r 


The  Old  Tobacco  Shop 


L_„ 


By  William  Bowen 


\ 


I 


Jl)N*4«A 


RY  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA 


ENDOWED  BY  THE 

DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 

SOCIETIES 

UBRARY 

SCHOOL 


J 
Bowen 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


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DATE  DUE 

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CAYLORO 

l>*IMTCOIN  U.5  ». 

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I 


i 


THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 


By 
WILLIAM  BOWEN 


The  Enchanted  Forest 
The  Old  Tobacco  Shop 


'Lord  bless  us!"  cried  the  hunch  back.    "Look  at  that!' 


The  Old  Tobacco  Shop 

A  True  Account  of  What  Befell 

a  Little  Boy  in  Search 

oj  Adventure 


By 

William  Bow  en 


\ 


Though  you  believe  it  not,  I  care  not  much:  but  an  honest  man, 
and  of  good  judgment,  believeth  still  what  is  told  him,  and  that 
which  he  finds  written. — Rabelais. 


Nem  fork 
THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1921 

All  rights  reserved 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


Copyright,  1921 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 


Set  up  and  Electrotyped.    Published  October,  1921 


FERRIS  PRINTING  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK 


To 

BILLY  AND  JOHN 

TWO  LITTLE  BOYS 


PRINCIPAL  PERSONS 

Freddie 

Mr.  Toby 

Aunt  Amanda 

Mr.  Punch 

The  Churchwarden 

Mr.  Hanlon 

The  Sly  Old  Fox 

The  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden  Leg 

Mr.  Lemuel  Mizzen 

The  Cabin-Boy 

Marmaduke 

Captain  Lingo 

Ketch  the  Practitioner 

The  Third  Vice-President 

Mr.  Matthew  Speak 

Shiraz  the  Rug-Merchant 

The  King  and  Queen 

Robert,  Jenny,  and  James 

Mr.  Punch's  Father 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

1.  "Lord  bless  US !"  cried  the  hunch  back.    "Look  at 

that!" Frontispiece 

2.  "I'm  Lemuel  Mizzen,  A.  B.,  that's  me!"   ...     50 

3.  "L-l-Lem!"  shrieked   the   parrot.    "Who's   your 

f-f-f-friends?" 86 

4.  Mr.  Hanlon  was  standing  on  his  feet  by  the  log  on 

which  his  head  had  been  cut  off.     .        .       .       •  134 

5.  Shiraz  the  Rug-Merchant  looked   at   his   visitors 

with  little  beady  black  eyes 188 

6.  "Ah,  yes,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,"there's  no  place  like 

the  Old  Tobacco  Shop  after  all" 235 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 
VIII. 

IX. 
X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 
XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 


Mr.  Punch  and  the  Clock-Tower 
Aunt  Amanda  and  the  Two  Old  Codgers 
Introducing  the  Churchwarden  • 
In  which  Mr.  Hanlon  makes  a  Great  Im- 
pression      

The  Chinaman's  Head 

Lemuel  Mizzen,  A.  B 

The  Hands  of  the  Clock  come  Together  . 
Celluloid  CufFs  and  a  Silk  Hat    . 

The  Odour  of  Sanctity 

Captain  Higginson  and  the  Spanish  Main 

A  Mixed  Company  in  search  of  Adventure 

The  Voyage  of  the  Sieve 

The  Cabin-Boy's  Revenge  . 

The  Cruise  of  the  Mattresses     . 

A  Fall  in  the  Dark        .... 


Captain  Lingo  and  a  Fine  Piece  of  Head 
Work 

High  Dudgeon  and  Low  Dudgeon 
The  Society  for  Piratical  Research    . 
A  Knock  at  the  Door  .... 
The  City  of  Towers      .... 
Shiraz  the  Rug-Merchant    . 
Six  Enchanted  Souls     .... 
From  the  Fire  Back  to  the  Frying-Pan 
Disenchantment  Complete  . 
The  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain  . 
The  King's  Tower         .... 
The  Sorcerer's  Den       .... 
The  Old  Tobacco  Shop 


PAGE 
I 

9 

21 
31 

39 
48 

54 
60 

69 

74 
81 

93 

107 
III 

122 

139 
146 
160 
171 
178 
187 
196 
200 
209 
216 
222 
231 


THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

CHAPTER  I 

MR.  PUNCH  AND  THE  CLOCK-TOWER 

'HEN  the  Little  Boy  first  went  to  the  Old 
Tobacco  Shop,  he  stood  a  long  while  before 
going  in,  to  look  at  the  wooden  figure  which 
stood  beside  the  door. 

His  father  was  sitting  at  home  in  his  carpet-slip- 
pers, waiting  for  tobacco  for  his  pipe,  but  when  the 
Little  Boy  saw  the  wooden  figure  he  forgot  all  about 
hurrying, — "Now  don't  be  long,"  his  mother  had  said, 
and  his  father  had  said  "Hurry  back," — but  he  forgot 
all  about  hurrying,  and  stood  and  looked  at  the  wooden 
figure  a  long  time :  a  little  hunchbacked  man,  not  so 
very  much  taller  than  himself,  on  a  low  wooden  box, 
holding  out  in  one  hand  a  packet  of  black  wooden 
cigars.  His  back  was  terribly  humped  up  between  his 
shoulders,  his  face  was  square  and  bony,  if  wood  can 
be  said  to  be  bony,  he  was  bareheaded  and  baldheaded, 
he  had  a  wide  mouth,  and  his  high  nose  curved  down 
over  it  and  his  pointed  chin  curved  up  under  it;  and 
his  breast  stuck  out  in  front  almost  as  much  as  his 
shoulders  stuck  out  behind. 

The  Little  Boy's  name  was  Freddie;  his  mother 
called  him  that,  and  his  father  usually  called  him  Fred; 


2  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

but  sometimes  his  father  called  him  Frederick,  in  fact 
whenever  he  didn't  come  back  after  he  had  been  told 
to  hurry,  and  then  his  father  looked  at  him — you 
know  that  look — and  said  "Frederick!"  just  like  that. 
But  his  mother  never  called  him  anything  but  Freddie, 
even  when  he  was  late. 

He  grasped  his  money  tight  in  his  hand,  as  he  had 
been  told  to  do,  and  stood  and  looked  at  the  little 
hunchbacked  wooden  man  holding  out  his  packet  of 
black  wooden  cigars.  "I  wonder,"  thought  Freddie, 
"what  makes  him  so  crooked?"  He  walked  around 
him  and  looked  at  his  back.  He  walked  around  in 
front  of  him  again  and  wondered  if  the  black  cigars  in 
his  hand  would  smoke;  he  decided  he  would  ask  about 
it.  The  little  man  wore  blue  knee  breeches  and  black 
stockings  and  buckled  shoes,  and  his  coat  was  cut  away 
in  front  over  his  stomach  and  had  two  tails  behind, 
down  to  his  knees.  It  was  easy  to  see  that  he  wasn't 
a  boy,  though,  even  if  he  did  wear  knee  breeches;  you 
only  had  to  look  at  his  face,  for  he  had  the  kind  of 
hard  boniness  in  his  face  that  grownups  have.  Freddie 
made  up  his  mind  that  he  liked  him,  anyway;  and  it 
must  have  been  hard  to  have  to  stand  out  there  all  day 
without  moving,  rain  or  shine,  and  offer  that  bunch  of 
cigars  to  all  the  people  vi^ho  went  by,  and  never  get 
a  single  soul  to  take  them.  Freddie  put  out  his  other 
hand  (not  the  one  with  the  money  in  it)  towards  the 
cigars,  but  he  quickly  drew  it  back,  for  he  looked  at 
the  little  man's  face  at  the  same  time,  and  there  was 
something  about  his  eyes — anyhow,  he  stood  back  a 
little. 

"Better  be  careful  o'  Mr.  Punch,  young  feller,"  said 
a  deep  voice  from  the  shop  door. 

Freddie  looked,  and  in  the  doorway,  leaning  against 
the  doorpost,  with  his  hands  in  his  trousers'  pockets, 


MR.  PUNCH  AND  THE  CLOCK-TOWER     3 

and  one  foot  crossed  over  the  other,  stood  a  little  man, 
not  so  very  much  taller  than  himself,  and  certainly  no 
■"aller  than  the  figure  on  the  stand,  who  stared  at  Fred- 
die as  if  he  knew  all  about  human  boys  and  did  not 
trust  them  out  of  his  sight.  Freddie  looked  at  him 
and  then  at  the  wooden  figure  beside  the  door;  they 
might  have  been  brothers.  The  little  man  had  a  hump 
on  his  back,  and  his  breast  stuck  out  in  front;  his 
head  was  big  and  square,  and  he  had  high  cheek-bones; 
his  face  was  bony  and  his  mouth  wide,  and  his  big 
nose  curved  down  and  his  chin  curved  up;  but  he 
did  not  wear  knee  breeches;  his  trousers  were  the 
trousers  of  grown-ups,  and  his  coat  was  a  square  coat, 
buttoned  tight  over  his  chest  from  top  to  bottom.  He 
was  bareheaded,  and  he  had  plenty  of  hair,  brushed 
from  the  top  of  his  head  down  towards  his  forehead. 
He  looked  as  if  he  belonged  to  the  tobacco  shop;  or 
perhaps  the  tobacco  shop  belonged  to  him. 

He  stared  at  Freddie  without  blinking,  and  there  was 
something  in  his  eyes — anyway,  Freddie  stepped  back, 
and  held  his  money  tighter  In  his  hand  behind  him. 

"You'd  better  stand  away  from  Mr.  Punch,"  said  the 
hunchbacked  man,  without  moving. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie. 

"Did  you  say  'why'?  Because  you  know  I'm  ter- 
rible deef,  and  can't  never  hear  boys  when  they  talk 
down  in  their  stomicks.  I'll  tell  you  why,  as  long  as 
you  ast  me.  Do  you  see  that  clock  on  the  church- 
tower  over  there?"  He  nodded  his  big  wooden  head 
up  the  street,  without  taking  his  hands  from  his  pockets. 
Freddie  looked,  and  there  the  clock  was,  plain  enough. 
"Well,"  said  the  hunchbacked  man,  "I'll  tell  you,  seeing 
as  you  Insist  upon  it,  and  won't  take  no  for  an  answer; 
but  you  mustn't  never  tell  It  to  no  one.  Do  you 
promise  me  that?     Cross  your  heart?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie. 


4  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"Done,"  said  the  hunchback.  "Mr.  Punch's  father 
lives  up  there  behind  that  clock.  And  sometimes,  just 
exactly  when  the  two  hands  of  that  clock  come  together, 
one  on  top  of  the  other,  mind  you,  like  you  lay  one  stick 
along  another,  Mr.  Punch's  father  comes  out  and  stands 
on  that  there  sill  under  the  clock;  he's  a  little  old  man 
with  a  long  white  beard;  and  he  stands  there  and  puts 
his  hand  to  his  mouth  and  calls  down  here  to  Mr. 
Punch,  and  Mr.  Punch  climbs  down  off  his  little  perch 
and  goes  over  to  that  church,  and  climbs  up  the  inside 
of  that  tower  to  the  very  top  and  meets  his  father! 
And  I've  heard  tell  that  they  have  regular  high  jinks 
up  there  all  by  theirselves,  and  vittles !  more  vittles  and 
drink  than  you  ever  seen  at  one  time;  yes,  sir;  a  regu- 
lar feast,  as  sure  as  you're  born;  and  they  don't  only 
eat  vittles;  no,  sir;  if  they  can  only  get  hold  of  a 
nice  plump  little  boy  or  two,  with  plenty  o'  meat  to 
him,  that's  what  they  like  best;  and  if  it  happens  to  be 
night-time,  there's  a  lot  of  queer  ones  with  'em  up 
there,  and  all  sorts  of  queer  noises — you  ask  the  sex- 
tant over  there  about  it — he's  heard  'em;  and  if  you 
should  just  happen  to  be  around  when  Mr.  Punch 
climbs  down  off  of  this  here  perch,  you'd  better  look 
out;  for  he's  just  as  likely  as  not  to  snatch  you  up 
and  carry  you  off  with  him  up  there  into  that  churcli-: 
tower  to  his  father,  and  if  he  does  that,  that's  the  last 
of  you;  and  your  ma  and  your  pa  could  cry  their 
eyes  out,  and  it  wouldn't  be  no  use;  you'd  be  gone! 
And  never  come  back  no  more.  They  say  there's  many 
a  boy  been  took  up  into  that  tower  by  Mr.  Punch  here 
when  his  father  comes  out  and  calls  him.  But  he 
don't  always  come  out  when  the  hands  of  the  clock 
come  together;  nobody  ever  knows  when  he's  going 
to  do  it,  no  sirree;  Mr.  Punch  himself  never  know&|p 
when  his  father's  going  to  call  him.  Lord  bless  us! 
cried  the  little  hunchback,  looking  up  again  in  alarm  at 


MR.  PUNCH  AND  THE  CLOCK-TOWER     5 

the  clock  in  the  church-tower.  "Lord  bless  us,  look 
at  that!" 

Freddie  stared  at  the  clock.  It  was  twenty-five  min- 
utes past  five.  He  knew  how  to  tell  twelve  o'clock 
and  ten  minutes  to  ten,  but  he  had  never  got  as  far 
•^  as  twenty-five  minutes  past  five;  he  could  easily  see, 
'  however,  that  the  big  hand  was  almost  on  top  of  the 
little  hand.  He  edged  away  further  from  the  wooden 
figure  on  the  box;  he  was  almost  sure  that  the  hand 
which  held  the  cigars  moved  a  little. 

The  hunchbacked  man  in  the  doorw,ay  stood  up 
straight  on  his  two  feet  and  took  his  hands  out  of 
his  pockets. 

"Look  alive,  young  feller!"  he  said.  "It's  pretty 
near  time!  In  another  minute!  I  can't  help  it  if  Mr. 
Punch's  father  comes  out  and — Quick,  boy!  Come 
here  to  me,  before  it's  too  late!  I'll  see  if  I  can 
save  you !" 

Freddie  gave  another  look  at  the  clock;  the  hands 
were  surely  almost  together,  and  quick  as  a  flash  he 
darted  to  the  hunchback  and  hid  behind  him  and  held 
on  to  his  coat,  peeping  around  him  through  the  door- 
way. The  little  man  put  his  arm  about  Freddie  and 
held  him  close;  it  was  a  strong  muscular  arm,  and 
Freddie  felt  quite  safe.  The  little  man  could  not  have 
been  laughing,  for  his  face  was  as  solemn  and  wooden- 
looking  as  ever;  but  Freddie  could  feel  his  body  shaking 
all  over,  he  couldn't  tell  why. 

"You'd  better  come  in  and  see  Aunt  Amanda,"  he 
said,  "before  it's  too  late.     You'll  be  safe  in  there." 

He  took  Freddie  by  the  hand  and  drew  him  into  the 
shop. 

The  Old  Tobacco  Shop  stands  at  the  corner  of  two 

streets,   as  you   surely  must  know  if  you   have   ever 

H^een  in  the  city  that  lies  on  the  river  called  Patapsco, 

which  runs  along  ever  so  far  out  of  a  great  bay  where 

ships  sail  from  all  over  the  world,  called  Chesapeake 


6  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Bay.  It  Is  an  old  brick  house,  and  you  go  into  the 
shop  by  the  door  that  opens  in  the  side  just  round  the 
corner,  not  in  the  front,  for  there  isn't  any  door  at 
the  front,  but  only  a  window  with  pipes  and  cigars 
and  tobacco  in  it,  and  the  stuffed  head  of  a  bull-dog 
with  a  pipe  in  his  mouth.  The  house  is  only  one  story 
and  a  half  high,  and  has  a  steep  gabled  roof,  with 
two  dormer  windows  in  the  slope  of  the  roof  above  the 
side  of  the  house,  and  one  dormer  window  in  the 
slope  of  the  roof  above  the  shop-window  in  front, 
where  the  bull-dog  is.  All  the  other  houses  fronting 
in  the  row  are  good  high  two-story  houses;  why  this 
corner  house  never  grew  up  like  the  others,  no  one 
knows. 

When  Freddie  was  standing  at  the  corner  of  the 
street,  before  he  had  seen  the  wooden  figure  offering 
his  bundle  of  wooden  cigars  there  beside  the  door,  he 
looked  down  the  street  that  runs  along  the  side  of  the 
shop,  across  the  street  that  crosses  it,  and  saw  the 
masts  of  tall  ships  in  the  harbor  beside  the  wharves; 
some  with  their  sails  up,  some  with  their  sails  hang- 
ing most  untidily,  and  some  with  their  sails  neatly 
rolled  up  and  tied;  and  he  would  certainly  have  gone 
down  there,  only  his  father  had  told  him  to  hurry. 

Freddie  lived  In  a  fine  two-story  brick  house  In 
a  row  like  this  one,  a  long,  long  way  off;  three  squares 
(off  (they  say  "squares"  in  that  city  when  they  mean 
a  straight  line  between  two  streets  and  not  a  square  at 
all)  down  the  same  street  on  which  the  Old  Tobacco 
Shop  fronts;  and  it  really  takes  a  good  while  to  go  all 
tihat  way,  for  there  Is  a  boy  half-way  down,  a  big  boy, 
who  belongs  to  a  Gang,  and  likes  to  bully  little  boys, 
and  you  have  to  watch  your  chance  to  get  out  of  his 
way.  and  there  is  a  place  with  a  knot-hole  In  the  fence 
where  you  can  see  all  kinds  of  rusty  springs  and  bed- 
rails  and  birdcages  and  barrel  hoops  piled  up  inside 


MR.  PUNCH  AND  THE  CLOCK-TOWER     7 

the  yard,  and  a  tin-can  factory  where  you  can  pick  up 
little  round  pieces  of  tin  just  as  good  as  dollars,  and 
a  church  (where  the  clock  is)  with  a  fat  old  man 
sitting  on  the  pavement  in  a  chair  tilted  back  against 
the  church  wall  smoking  a  long  pipe,  who  doesn't 
mind  being  stared  at  from  the  curbstone,  and  a  street- 
car track  where  you  have  to  look  out  for  the  horse-car, 
which  is  very  dangerous  when  the  horse  begins  to  trot, 
and — but  Freddie  hadn't  lived  long  in  his  fine  two- 
story  house  in  that  street,  and  these  things  were  new 
to  him  and  took  time.  But  the  newest  and  biggest 
thing  he  had  yet  found  (not  that  it  was  really  big,  you 
know)  was  the  wooden  hunchback  outside  the  door  of 
the  Old  Tobacco  Shop;  and  you  have  seen  how  much 
time  that  took. 

Freddie  found  himself  Inside  the  shop,  and  his  hand 
grasped  tight  by  the  big  strong  hand  of  the  hunch- 
back, so  tight  that  he  wriggled  a  little  to  get  loose; 
but  the  hunchback  only  held  him  tighter.  "Come 
along,"  he  said,  "you'd  better  come  in  here  and  see 
my  Aunt  Amanda,  or  Mr.  Punch  may  step  out  and 
get  you;  and  then  where  would  you  be?" 

Freddie  looked  back  out  of  doors  over  his  shoulder, 
but  it  did  not  seem  as  if  Mr.  Punch  meant  to  step 
out  that  time.  He  breathed  easier.  The  shop  was 
a  very  little  shop,  with  shelves  on  the  wall  behind 
the  counter,  and  a  window  in  front  where  he  saw  the 
back  of  the  bull-dog's  head.  The  two  show-cases  on 
the  counter  were  full  of  pipes  of  all  kinds,  and  cigars 
and  tobacco  and  cigarettes,  and  piled  on  the  shelves 
were  boxes  of  cigars  and  jars  and  tins  of  tobacco,  and 
on  the  wooden  top  of  the  counter  between  the  two  show- 
cases stood  a  tobacco-cutter  and  a  little  pair  of  scales 
with  a  scoop  lying  besfde  it  and  little  iron  weights  in 
a  box.  The  counter  ran  from  the  front  window 
length-wise  to  the  back  of  the  shop,  and  at  the  back, 


8  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

on  your  left  as  you  went  In,  was  a  closed  door.  A 
wooden  chair  with  arms  stood  beside  the  front  window. 
You  could  get  behind  the  counter  only  by  a  swinging 
gate  at  the  back  end.  There  was  a  delightful  warm 
odour  about  the  place,  very  much  the  same  odour 
Freddie  liked  to  smell  when  his  father  opened  his  old 
tobacco-box  on  the  mantel-piece  in  the  sitting-room 
upstairs  and  filled  his  pipe,  when  he  came  home  in  the 
evening  and  put  on  his  carpet-slippers  and  spread  out 
that  everlasting  newspaper  that  had  no  pictures  in  it. 
He  never  could  understand  why  his  mother  opened  all 
the  windows  the  next  morning. 

**A11  right,  young  feller,"  said  the  hunchback,  "we'll 
get  on  the  other  side  of  that  door,  and  then  we'll  be 
safe.    Here  we  are." 

They  reached  the  door  at  the  back  of  the  shop,  and 
the  hunchback  opened  it  and  pulled  Freddie  into  the 
back  room  and  closed  the  door  behind  them.  Freddie 
hung  back  a  little,  but  his  hand  was  gripped  tight,  and 
he  couldn't  have  got  away  if  he  had  tugged  with  all 
his  might.  He  was  not  so  much  afraid  now  of  Mr. 
Punch  and  his  father,  but  he  didn't  know  what  this 
little  man  was  going  to  do  with  him;  and  besides,  his 
father  had  told  him  to  hurry. 

In  this  back  room,  near  a  window  which  looked  out 
on  the  street,  sat  a  lady.  The  hunchback  marched 
Freddie  up  to  her  and  stopped  there  before  her,  and 
wagged  his  head  sidewlse  towards  the  Little  Boy.  The 
hunchback  and  the  Little  Boy  stood  hand  in  hand,  and 
the  lady  looked  at  them  steadily. 


CHAPTER  II 


AUNT  AMANDA  AND  THE  TWO  OLD  CODGERS 

**"¥*  TERE'S  Aunt  Amanda,"  said  the  hunchback, 
I — I  standing  before  the  lady  who  was  sitting  near 
-»-  -■-  the  window,  and  letting  go  of  Freddie's  hand, 
"and  here's  a  boy  that  Mr.  Punch  pretty  near  got  hold 
of,  if  I  hadn't  come  along  just  in  time  and  hustled  him 
in  here.  Just  look  out  of  that  window,  Aunt  Amanda, 
and  see  if  Mr.  Punch  has  moved  yet." 

The  lady  did  not  look  out  of  the  window,  but  stared 
at  Freddie  with  her  mouth  shut  tight.  She  had  very 
thin  lips  and  she  pressed  them  tight  together;  and  with- 
out opening  them  more  than  a  wee  mite  she  said  to 
the  hunchback,  sternly : 

''Obelllackyoomuptwonyerlx." 

Freddie  could  not  understand  this  at  all.  He  looked 
at  her  closely.  She  was  very  thin,  and  had  a  high 
beaked  nose  and  reddish  hair  and  a  reddish  skin,  and 
on  the  left  side  of  her  chin  was  a  mole,  with  three  little 
reddish  hairs  sticking  out  of  it;  she  wore  a  rusty  black 
dress,  very  tight  above  the  waist  and  very  wide  below, 
and  in  the  bosom  of  this  dress  were  sticking  dozens, 
maybe  hundreds,  for  all  Freddie  could  tell,  of  pins  and 
needles.  She  must  have  been  very  tall  when  she  stood 
up.  A  cane  leaned  against  the  back  of  her  chair;  she 
was  a  little  lame;  not  very  lame,  but  enough  to  make 
her  limp  when  she  walked,  and  to  make  her  cane  useful 
in  getting  about.  If  she  had  had  a  stiff  starched  ruff 
about  her  neck  and  a  lace  thing  on  her  head  pointed 
in  front,  she  would  have  done  very  well  for  Queen 

9 


lo  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Elizabeth,  the  one  you  see  the  picture  of  in  that  history- 
book.  There  was  a  thimble  on  the  second  finger  of  her 
right  hand,  and  a  pair  of  scissors  hung  by  a  tape  at  her 
waist;  and  around  her  neck  she  wore  a  measuring  tape. 
On  the  floor  at  her  feet  lay  a  pile  of  goods,  and  some 
of  it  was  in  her  lap;  the  kind  of  goods  that  Mother 
has  around  her  when  she  is  turning  and  making  over 
that  old  blue  serge,  and  gathers  up  out  of  Father's  way 
when  she  hears  him  coming  in  towards  the  sitting-room. 

At  Aunt  Amanda's  elbow  stood  an  oval  marble- 
topped  table,  and  besides  a  work-basket  there  were  sev- 
eral fascinating  things  on  it.  In  the  center  was  a 
glass  dome,  and  under  the  glass  dome  was  the  most 
beautiful  basket  of  wax  flowers — calla  lilies  mostly, 
with  a  wonderful  yellow  spike  like  a  finger  sticking  up 
out  of  each  one.  On  one  side  of  the  wax  flowers  was 
a  thick  book  with  blue  plush  covers,  and  the  word 
"Album"  across  it  in  slanting  gold  letters.  On  the 
other  side  was  a  kind  of  a — well,  it  had  a  handle  under 
a  piece  of  wood  to  hold  it  up  by,  and  a  frame  at  one 
end  to  stick  up  a  picture  in,  and  two  pieces  of  thick 
glass  in  a  frame  at  the  other  end  to  look  through  at 
the  picture  and  make  the  picture  look  all — yoii  know! 
— as  if  the  people  in  the  back  of  it  were  a  long  way 
behind,  and  the  people  in  front  right  close  up  in  front, 
and  all  that;  Freddie's  father  had  one. 

The  chairs  in  the  room  had  thin  curved  legs  and  those 
slippery  horse-hair  seats  which  Freddie  hated  to  sit 
on.  On  the  walls  were  portraits  in  oval  frames  of  men 
with  chin-whiskers  and  no  mustaches,  and  ladies  in 
shawls  and  bonnets;  but  there  was  one  square  frame, 
and  it  had  no  picture  under  its  glass,  but  a  sheaf  of 
real  wheat,  standing  up  as  natural  as  life,  with  some 
kind  of  curly  writing  over  it;  it  was  simply  beautiful. 
There  was  a  clock  on  the  marble  mantel-piece,  tall  and 
square-cornered,  with  a  clear  circle  in  the  glass  below 
where  you  could  see  the  round  weight  of  the  pendulum 


AUNT  AMANDA  AND  TWO  OLD  CODGERS  1 1 

go  back  and  forth,  and  a  picture  of  the  sun  on  the 
face,  very  red,  with  a  big  nose  and  eyes,  and  stiff  red 
hair  floating  off  from  it. 

Aunt  Amanda  stuck  a  pin  In  the  goods  In  her  lap  and 
folded  her  hands.  Freddie,  after  glancing  around  the 
room,  looked  at  her  again  and  wondered  who  she  was; 
plain  sewing  she  was,  that  was  sure,  also  an  aunt;  and 
besides  that,  although  Freddie  did  not  know  It,  she  was 
an  old — I  hate  to  say  it,  though  It  wasn't  anything 
really  against  her,  if  you  come  to  that, — an  old — well, 
you  know  what  you  call  them  behind  their  backs,  or 
shout  after  them  as  they  go  down  the  street  and  then 
whip  around  the  corner  when  they  turn,  just  simply 
because  they  haven't  ever  been  married,  like  Mother, — 
well,  then,  an  Old  Maid. 

Being  an  Old  Maid,  she  of  course  wore  no  wedding 
ring;  but  on  her  wedding-finger,  the  third  finger  of  her 
left  hand,  there  was  a  mark  at  the  place  where  a  wed- 
ding ring  would  have  been;  a  kind  of  birth-mark,  ruby 
red.  In  shape  and  size  like  the  ruby  stone  of  a  ring. 
Freddie  looked  a*^  It  often  afterwards. 

"Now  you  look  here,  Aunt  Amanda,"  said  her 
nephew,  taking  hold  of  Freddie's  hand  again,  "you 
know  well  enough  I  can't  understand  you  with  all  them 
pins — " 

Aunt  Amanda  put  a  hand  to  her  lips  and  drew  out 
of  her  mouth  a  pin  and  stuck  it  in  the  bosom  of  her 
dress.  She  put  her  hand  to  her  lips  again  and  drew 
forth  another  pin  and  stuck  It  In  the  bosom  of  her 
dress.  She  drew  forth  another  and  another,  and  stuck 
each  one  In  her  dress.  Freddie's  eyes  opened  wide; 
did  this  lady  eat  pins?  Her  mouth  seemed  to  be  full 
of  them;  didn't  they  hurt?  It  didn't  seem  possible 
she  could  eat  them,  and  yet  there  they  were.  No  won- 
der she  couldn't  talk  plainly.     There  seemed  to  be  no 


12  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

end  to  the  pins,  but  there  was,  and  at  last  her  mouth 
was  clear  of  them  so  that  she  could  talk. 

"Toby  LIttleback,"  said  she,  "you're  up  to  one  o' 
your  tricks  again.  Ain't  you  ashamed  of  yourself?" 
That  was  what  she  had  meant  by  saying,  "Obelilack- 
yoomuptwonyerix,"  with  her  mouth  full  of  pins. 

Toby  was  quite  crestfallen.  "Well,"  he  said,  "I 
guess  it  ain't  no  hangin'  matter.  All  I  done  was  to 
bring  the  boy  in  to  see  you.  'N'  this  is  what  I  get 
fer  it  every  time.  I  ain't  agoing  to  bring  'em  in  any 
more,  that's  flat." 

"Let  go  o'  the  child,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  sharply. 
"Can't  you  see  you're  hurting  his  hand?  Come  here, 
boy." 

Mr.  Littleback  dropped  Freddie's  hand  and  walked 
over  to  the  table  beside  his  aunt.  Freddie  came  forward 
timidly  and  stood  at  Aunt  Amanda's  knee.  She  ex- 
amined him  carefully. 

"It's  the  best  one  yet,"  she  said.  "Boy,  do  you  know 
you're  as  pretty  as  a —  Well,  anyway,  what  is  your 
name?" 

If  there  was  one  thing  Freddie  loathed,  it  was  to  be 
called  pretty;  he  had  heard  it  before,  in  the  parlor  at 
home,  when  he  had  been  trotted  out  to  be  inspected  by 
female  visitors,  and  he  had  tried  many  a  time  to  scrub 
off  the  rosy  redness  from  his  cheeks,  but  he  had  found 
it  only  made  it  worse.  He  hung  his  head  a  little,  and 
could  not  find  his  voice.  Aunt  Amanda  took  his  chin 
in  her  hand  and  gently  held  up  his  head. 

"It's  all  right,  my  dear,"  said  she.  "What  is  your 
name,  now?" 

"Fweddie,"  said  the  Little  Boy. 

"It  ain't  neither!"  cried  Mr.  Littleback.  "There 
ain't  no  such  name.  It's  Freddie !  Come  on,  now, 
say  Freddie!" 

"Fweddie,"  said  the  Little  Boy. 


AUNT  AMANDA  AND  TWO  OLD  CODGERS  13 

"No,  no!"  cried  Toby.  "Try  it  again,  now.     Say 

Freddie!" 

"Toby,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "shut  up.  Freddie,  I 
haven't  any  little  boy,  and  I  don't  get  out  very  much, 
and  I'd  like  you  to  come  and  see  me  sometimes.  Would 
you  like  to  do  that?" 

Freddie  stared  at  her,  and  said,  "Yes'm." 

"I  hope  you  will,  often.  Be  sure  you  do.  I  sup- 
pose you  don't  like  gingerbread?    Toby." 

The  little  hunchback  went  out  briskly  through  a  back 
door  and  returned  with  a  slice  of  gingerbread.  "Baked 
today,"  said  his  aunt.  "But  what  time  is  it?  Quarter 
to  six.  Too  near  suppertime.  You  mustn't  eat  It  now, 
Freddie.     Toby,  wrap  it  up." 

Toby  went  into  the  shop  and  returned  with  a  paper 
sack,  and  putting  the  gingerbread  into  it  gave  it  to 
Freddie. 

"Now,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "take  it  home  with  you 
and  eat  it  after  supper.    Will  you  come  to  see  me?" 

"Yes'm,"  said  Freddie  as  if  he  meant  it.  You  couldn't 
get  gingerbread  at  home  between  meals  every  day  in 
the  week. 

"That's  a  good  boy.     Now  run  away  home." 

"Please,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  holding  out  the  money  in 
his  hand,  "my  farver  wants  half  a  pound  of  Cage- 
Roach  Mitchner." 

"What?  Oh  !"_ said  Toby.  /T  see.  Half  a  pound 
of  Stage-Coach  Mixture.  All  right,  young  feller,  come 
along  into  the  shop." 

"Good-bye,  Freddie,  and  don't  break  the  ginger- 
bread before  you  get  home,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  taking 
into  her  mouth  a  palmful  of  pins  with  a  back  toss  of 
her  head.  Had  she  swallowed  them?  Freddie  stared 
at  her  in  alarm. 

"Ain't  you  never  comin'    for  the   tobacco?"    said 


14  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Toby.  "I  can't  keep  all  them  customers  In  the  shop 
waiting  all  day." 

Freddie  followed  him  into  the  shop. 

"lou'U  have  to  wait  your  turn,  young  feller,"  said 
Toby.  "I  can't  keep  these  customers  waiting  no  longer. 
What'll  you  have,  Mr.  Applejohn?" 

Freddie  looked  around  for  Mr.  Applejohn,  but  so 
far  as  he  could  see  there  was  no  one  in  the  shop  but 
himself  and  Mr.  Littleback.  The  hunchback  went 
through  the  swinging  gate  and  stood  behind  the 
counter,  and  looked  over  it  (his  head  and  shoulders 
just  came  over  the  top)   at  Mr.  Applejohn. 

"No,"  said  Toby,  "we're  just  out  of  it.  Very  sorry. 
But  I  have  something  just  as  good.  No?  Well,  then, 
come  around  tomorrow;  yes,  sir;  between  ten  and 
eleven.  Now,  then,  Tom,  it's  your  turn.  You  want 
what?  No,  sir,  I  won't  sell  no  cigarettes  to  no  boy,  so 
you  can  clear  out.  You  ought  to  be  ashamed  o'  your- 
self, smoking  cigarettes  at  your  age.  No  use  arguin', 
I  won't  do  it.  You  can  get  right  out  o'  here."  The 
big  wooden-looking  head  winked  an  eye  at  Freddie. 
"That's  the  way  I  treat  'em.  Did  you  see  how  he 
skipped  off  in  a  hurry?    You  saw  him  go,  didn't  you?" 

Freddie  looked  at  the  door.  He  hadn't  seen  any- 
body, but  after  all  that  talk  there  must  have  been 
somebody  there;  he  couldn't  be  sure;  probably  he  had 
been  mistaken  about  it;  grownup  people  ought  to  know 
what  they  were  talking  about;  perhaps  he  had  seen 
somebody.     He  hesitated. 

"I — I  think  so;  I  believe  so;  yes,  sir." 

"Don't  you  fool  yourself,  young  man.  You  can't 
smoke  cigarettes  If  you  ever  want  to  grow  up.  Look  at 
me.  Do  you  see  this?"  He  turned  his  back  and 
reached  over  his  shoulder  to  his  hump.  "Cigarettes. 
That's  what  done  It.  Cigarettes.  I  smoked  'em  along 
with  my  bottle  of  milk,  regular,  when  I  was  a  kid,  and 
look  at  me  now,  not  much  bigger  than  Mr.  Punch  out 


AUNT  AMANDA  AND  TWO  OLD  CODGERS  15 

there.  Cigarettes.  Maybe  you  might  think  it  was  the 
bottle  o'  milk  done  it,  instead  of  the  cigarettes,  being 
as  they  was  at  the  same  time;  but  don't  you  never 
believe  it.  Cigarettes !  You  keep  off  of  'em.  Now 
pipe-tobacco!  That's  a  different  thing.  If  I'd  only 
stuck  to  a  pipe,  along  with  that  bottle  o'  milk,  look 
how  high  I'd  'a'  been  now!  What  kind  o'  tobacco  did 
you  say  your  farver  wanted?    Housewife's  Favorite?" 

"No,  sir,"  said  Freddie.  "My  farver  he  wants  half 
a  pound  of  Cage-Roach  Mitchner." 

"That's  it,"  said  Toby.  "I  don't  see  how  I  come  to 
forget  that  name.  Your  father's  a  man  o'  good  com- 
mon sense.  Nothing  like  Cage-Roach,  Here  it  is." 
He  turned  to  the  shelf  behind  him  and  mounted  a 
little  ladder  and  took  down  a  large  tin.  While  he  was 
scooping  out  the  tobacco  at  the  counter  and  weighing; 
it  on  the  scales  and  doing  it  up,  he  was  singing  to' 
himself,  and  Freddie  stared  at  him  with  rapt  attention. 

"Some  day,"  said  Mr.  Littleback,  without  pausing 
in  his  work  or  looking  at  Freddie,  "them  eyes  of  yourn 
will  pop  right  out  of  your  head,  if  you  ain't  careful. 
Did  you  ever  hear  that  song?" 

"No,   sir,"   said  Freddie. 

"Would  you  like  to  hear  it?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie. 

"It's  about  two  old  codgers — friends  of  mine;  they 
come  in  here  regular.  One  of  'em's  a  good  customer 
and  pays  spot  cash;  the  other  one  never  buys  nothing; 
and  I  can't  say  which  one  of  'em  I  like  worse.  Any- 
way, here's  how  it  goes : 

"Oh-h-h !  There  was  an  old  codger,  and 
he  had  a  wooden  leg. 
And  he  never  bought  tobacco  when  to- 
bacco he  could  beg." 

"Don't  you  never  let  yourself  get  into  that  habit, 
young  man.    Always  buy  your  tobacco  fair  and  square. 


1 6  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

I've  known  'em — this  feller  and  many  another  one — 
never  have  a  grain  o'  tobacco  left  in  their  pouch — just 
used  up  the  very  last  bit  two  minutes  before,  and  always 
a-beggin'  a  pipeful,  and  right  here  in  my  own  shop  too, 
where  I  sell  tobacco,  mind  you — I'd  like  'em  better  if 
they  sneaked  in  and  stole  it,  I  would,  any  day.  But  the 
other  one!  I  don't  know  that  I'd  want  to  be  him 
neither,  if  I  had  to  choose  between  'em, — however — 

"Another  old  codger,  as  sly  as  a  fox! 
And  he  always  had  tobacco  in  his  old 
tobacco  box. 

"Count  on  him  for  that !  He  never  begs  no  tobacco, 
nor  gives  away  none  either.  However,  he  ain't  such 
a  general  nuisance  as  the  other  one,  and  he  pays  spot 
cash.  I'll  have  to  say  that  much  for  him.  But  in 
spite  o'  everything  and  all,  I  can't  seem  to  make  myself 
care  for  him,  much.     Anyway — 

"Said  the   one   old   codger,  Won't  ye 
gimme  a  chew? 
Said    the    other    old    codger,    I'll    be 
hanged  if  I  do  ! 

"They're  a  fine  pair  now,  ain't  they?  One  of  'em  a 
nuisance  and  the  other  one  a  grouch.  You'll  see  'em 
here  both  in  my  shop  one  o'  these  days,  when  you're 
a-visitin'  Aunt  Amanda,  and  one  of  them  times — you 
,see  the  way  I  bounced  that  boy  that  wanted  cigarettes, 
'didn't  you?  Well,  that's  what  I'm  goin'  to  do  to 
'them  two  old  codgers  one  of  these  days,  you  watch 
and  see  if  I  don't;  yes,  sir;  both  of  'em,  as  sure  as  I've 
got  a  hump  on  my  back.  But  it's  pretty  good  advice, 
after  all,  what  the  song  says, — 

"So  save  up  your  pennies  and  put  away 
your  rocks, 
And  you'll  always  have  tobacco  in  your 
old  tobacco  box! 


AUNT  AMANDA  AND  TWO  OLD  CODGERS  17 

"Here's  your  Cage-Roach.  Gimme  your  money. 
There's  your  change;  five,  ten,  fifteen,  seventeen.  Now 
run  along.  Come  back  again;  what  did  you  say  your 
name  was?" 

"Fweddie." 

"You  mean  Freddie,  don't  you?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Why  don't  you  say  what  you  mean?  Well,  Fred- 
die, there's  plenty  of  tobacco  left  in  this  shop,  so  you 
can  come  in  whenever  the  old  tobacco  box  at  home 
runs  out.  And  don't  forget  to  come  in  to  see  Aunt 
Amanda.  Plenty  of  goods  left  in  the  shop  whenever — 
you  see  all  that?"  He  pointed  up  towards  the  shelves. 
"I'll  tell  you  something  I  ain't  told  to  but  mighty  few 
people  before.  There's  a  jar  of  smoking  tobacco  up 
there  that's  just  plain  magic.  Magic!  You  know 
what  that  means?" 

Freddie  started,  and  looked  up  at  the  shelves  in 
alarm.     He  nodded. 

"It's  that  one,  on  the  middle  shelf;  the  Chinaman's 
head.     Do  you  see  it?" 

He  pointed  to  a  white  porcelain  jar,  shaped  like  a 
human  head.  Freddie  could  see  that  it  was  the  head 
of  some  foreign  kind  of  man,  with  a  little  round  blue 
cap  on  top,  which  was  probably  the  lid. 

"That  tobacco  in  that  Chinaman's  head  is  magic, 
as  sure  as  you're  alive.  I  wouldn't  smoke  it  if  you'd 
give  me  all  the  plum  puddings  in  this  city  next  Christ- 
mas; no,  sir;  and  I  wouldn't  allow  nobody  else  to  smoke 
it,  neither;  I  just  naturally  wouldn't  dare  to.  Do  you 
know  where  that  tobacco  come  from?  A  sailor  off 
of  one  them  ships  down  there  in  the  harbor,  that  come 
all  the  way  from  China — yes,  sir,  China! — give  it  to 
me  once  for  a  quid  of  plug-cut;  what  you  might  call 
broke,  he  was,  and  it  wasn't  any  use  to  him  because 
he  didn't  smoke,  but  he  did  chew;  and  he  told  me  all 


1 8  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

about  It;  he  stole  it  from  an  old  sorcerer  in  China, 
where  he'd  just  come  from.  Don't  you  never  touch  It! 
I  wouldn't  want  to  be  in  your  boots  if  you  ever  smoked 
that  tobacco  in  that  there  Chinaman's  head!  You  can 
steal  anything  else  in  this  shop,  and  it  wouldn't  do 
much  harm  to  anybody;  but  you  keep  your  hands  off 
of  that  Chinaman's   tobacco,   mind  what  I'm  telling 


you 


"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie.  He  had  never  thought 
about  smoking  before,  in  connection  with  himself,  but 
now  for  the  first  time  he  began  to  wish  that  he  knew 
how  to  smoke.  It  would  be  worth  risking  something 
to  take  a  whiff  or  two  of  the  magic  tobacco  in  that 
Chinaman's  head,  just  to  see  what  would  happen. 

"Do  you  think  you'd  better  go  home  now?"  said 
Mr.  Littleback. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie.  "My  farver  told  me  tO' 
hurry." 

"Oh,  he  did!     Indeed!" 

The  hunchback  followed  Freddie  to  the  door,  and 
they  looked  up  together  at  the  clock  in  the  church- 
tower. 

"Ah!"  said  Toby.  "You're  safe.  Just  six  o'clock. 
Mr.  Punch's  father  can't  come  out  for  about  half  an 
hour  yet." 

Freddie  looked  back  as  he  crossed  the  street,  and 
saw  the  live  hunchback  leaning  against  the  wooden 
hunchback,  with  one  foot  crossed  over  the  other;  he 
could  hardly  tell  which  was  which,  except  for  the 
coat  and  breeches.  He  went  on  up  the  street  with 
his  package  of  tobacco  in  one  hand  and  his  package 
of  gingerbread  in  the  other.  As  he  passed  the  church, 
he  lingered  a  moment  to  stare  at  the  great  fat  man 
with  spectacles,  who  was  sitting  on  the  pavement  in 
a  chair  tilted  back  against  the  church-wall,  smoking 
a  long  pipe  and  reading  a  newspaper;  could  this  be  the 
"sextant"  of  the  church,  whom  Mr.  Toby  had  men- 


AUNT  AMANDA  AND  TWO  OLD  CODGERS  19 

tioned,  and  who  had  heard  the  queer  noises  from  the 
top  of  the  tower  when  Mr.  Punch  and  his  father  were 
up  there  having  their  high  jinks?  He  tried  to  get  up 
his  courage  to  ask  the  fat  man  about  it,  but  he  could 
not  get  the  words  out.  He  stared  so  long  that  the 
fat  man  finally  put  down  his  paper  and  took  the  pipe 
from  his  mouth  and  looked  over  his  spectacles  and 
said: 

"If  you're  conslderin'  making  a  bid  for  the  property, 
young  man,  I'll  see  what  the  senior  Churchwarden  has 
to  say  about  it.    How  much  do  you  offer?" 

"No,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  blushing  in  confusion,  and 
went  on  up  the  street.  He  understood  nothing  of 
what  the  fat  man  had  said,  but  he  caught  the  word 
"churchwarden,"  and  remembered  it. 

He  did  not  walk  very  fast,  for  he  had  a  good  deal 
to  think  about;  so  many  things  had  never  happened 
to  him  in  one  day  before.  He  dwelt  especially,  in  his 
mind,  on  the  two  old  codgers  who  were  friends  of 
Mr.  Toby,  and  he  supposed  that  his  own  father  never 
saved  up  his  pennies,  otherwise  his  old  tobacco  box 
would  not  be  empty  every  now  and  then.  However,  he 
was  glad  that  his  father  was  a  spendthrift,  because 
it  would  give  him  a  chance  to  go  to  the  Old  Tobacco 
Shop  sometimes  for  more  tobacco  for  the  box;  and 
apart  from  Aunt  Amanda  and  her  gingerbread,  he 
was  very  anxious  to  look  again  at  the  Chinaman's 
head  in  which  lay  the  magic  tobacco  which  he  must 
not  touch.  One  thing  was  sure;  he  would  never  go 
without  looking  carefully  first  at  the  hands  of  the 
clock.  He  wished  he  knew  how  to  smoke;  only  not 
cigarettes;  he  shivered  when  he  thought  of  the  terrible 
consequences. 

When  he  came  to  the  street-car  track,  the  horse- 
car  was  going  past;  at  least,  it  was  coming  down  the 
street,  and  he  did  not  want  to  be  run  over  by  that 
horse;  he  had  better  wait,  for  the  horse  was  trotting; 


20  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

his  mother  had  warned  him  about  it;  he  sat  down  on 
the  curb.  He  had  quite  a  moment  or  two  to  wait,  and 
there  would  be  time  to  give  a  hasty  glance  at  the 
gingerbread.  He  laid  the  tobacco-sack  beside  him  on 
the  curb,  and  opened  the  other  package;  the  car-horse 
had  dropped  into  a  walk  and  his  bell  was  hardly  jing- 
ling; there  was  no  hurry  after  all;  it  would  never 
do  to  cross  in  front  of  that  horse  even  though  he  was 
walking.  He  looked  at  the  gingerbread;  it  was  fresh 
and  soft,  and  its  smell,  when  held  close  to  the  nose, 
was  nothing  less  than  heavenly;  It  was  a  pity  it  had  to 
be  hidden  away  again  in  the  sack,  but  the  horse  was 
going  by  and  the  danger  would  soon  be  past.  He  held 
the  gingerbread  under  his  nose,  merely  to  smell  it;  the 
edge  of  it  touched  his  upper  lip  by  chance,  and  there 
was  something  peculiar  about  the  feel  of  it,  he  couldn't 
tell  exactly  what;  it  was  very  Interesting;  he  touched  It 
with  the  tip  of  his  tongue,  to  see  if  it  felt  the  same 
to  his  tongue  as  to  his  lip ;  It  was  just  the  same ;  perhaps 
teeth  would  be  different;  his  teeth  sank  Into  It,  just  for 
a  trial.  The  horse  was  going  by  now,  and  the  driver 
was  looking  at  him.  He  forgot  what  he  was  about, 
in  watching  the  horse  and  his  driver,  as  they  went  on 
past  him;  the  gingerbread  completely  slipped  his  mind, 
and  when  he  turned  his  head  back  from  the  horse-car 
and  came  to  himself  he  found,  to  his  amazement,  that 
his  mouth  was  full  of  gingerbread.  He  wondered  at 
first  how  It  got  there,  but  there  was  no  use  In  wonder- 
ing; there  It  was,  and  It  had  to  be  swallowed;  his 
mother  would  never  approve  of  his  spitting  it  out;  and 
so,  to  please  his  mother,  he  swallowed  it.  The  horse- 
car  was  nearly  a  square  away;  he  could  cross  the  track 
at  any  time  now;  there  was  no  hurry. 

When  he  came  into  the  fine  two-story  brick  house 
where  he  lived,  with  only  one  package  In  his  hand, 
his  mother  threw  up  her  hands  and  said: 


AUNT  AMANDA  AND  TWO  OLD  CODGERS  2 1 

"Why,  Freddie!  Where  on  earth  have  you  been? 
Did  you  get  lost?     Are  you  hungry?" 

"No'm.  _  Yes'm,"  said  Freddie. 

"Frederick,"  said  his  father,  looking  at  him  with 
that  look,  "where  have  you  been?  Didn't  I  tell  you 
to  hurry?" 

"Yes,  sir,  to  Mr.  Punch's,  and  I  didn't  see  his 
farver  at  all,  but  the  hands  come'd  right  over  on  top 
of  each  other  and  ha  didn't  get  down  off  of  his  perch, 
he  didn't,  so  Mr.  Toby  took  me  in  to  see  Aunt  Na- 
manda  and  she  eats  pins,  and  it's  cigarettes  that  gives 
you  that  hump  on  the  back,  only  tobacco's  all  right 
'cause  you  smoke  it  in  a  pipe  and  it  doesn't  do  you  any 
harm  at  all,  and  that's  what  Mr.  Toby  says  and  he 
ought  to  know  'cause  he's  got  one  on  his  back  his  own 
self,  but  you  mustn't  touch  that  tobacco  in  the  head 
'cause  it's  magic  and  the  sailor  said  so,  and  here's  the 
Cage-Roach  Mitchner,  and  that's  all." 

You  will  notice  that  he  said  nothing  about  the 
gingerbread. 


CHAPTER  III 

INTRODUCING  THE  CHURCHWARDEN 

VERY  time  Freddie  visited  the  Old  Tobacco 
Shop  after  that — and  It  was  pretty  often, 
whether  the  tobacco  box  at  home  needed  tobacco 
or  not,  for  there  were  a  good  many  things  that  drew 
him  there,  and  he  hardly  knew  which  was  the  most 
fascinating:  there  was  always  a  chance  of  ginger- 
bread, and  you  could  usually  depend  on  seeing  Aunt 
Amanda  eat  pins,  and  you  could  look  through  the  two 
pieces  of  glass  at  the  double  picture  and  make  It  all 
one  picture  with  the  people  in  It  standing  out  as  if  they 
were  real,  and  Mr.  Toby  would  often  sing  about  his 
friends  the  two  old  Codgers  and  talk  about  their  mean 
ways,  and  Mr.  Punch  was  always  waiting  for  his  father 
outside  the  door,  so  that  you  had  to  keep  your  eyes  on 
the  time,  or  at  least  the  clock  (which  is  different),  a-nd 
sometimes  Mr.  Toby  would  let  you  in  behind  the 
counter  and  let  you  scoop  tobacco  Into  a  paper  sack, 
and  when  his  back  was  turned  you  could  stand  under 
the  Chinaman's  head  with  the  magic  tobacco  in  it,  and 
=  look  up  at  it  and  wonder  what  would  happen  if  you 
took  just  one  or  two  little  teeny  whiffs — But  I  forget 
what  I  started  to  tell  you.  Oh,  yes.  Every  time  Fred- 
die visited  the  Old  Tobacco  Shop,  Mr.  Toby  would 
ask  him  his  name,  in  order  to  see  if  he  was  grown  up 
yet. 

"What's  your  name  today?"  Mr.  Toby  would  say. 

"Fweddle,"  would  be  the  Little  Boy's  answer. 

"Not  yet,"  Mr.  Toby  would  say,  shaking  his  head 
sadly.     "You  ain't  grown  up  yet.     Fm  very  sorry  to 

22 


INTRODUCING  THE  CHURCHWARDEN  23 

have  to  tell  you,  son,  but  you've  got  to  wait  a  while 
before  you're  grown  up.  I'll  tell  you  what;  I'll  give 
you  six  months  more,"  said  Mr.  Toby  on  one  occasion. 
"If  you  ain't  grown  up  by  that  time,  there's  no  hope 
for  you;  I  hate  to  have  to  say  it,  but  you  might  as  well 
know  it  one  time  as  another."  And  the  very  next  time 
the  Little  Boy  came  he  said  his  name  was  "Fweddie," 
and  Mr.  Toby  said,  "Well,  never  mind,  you've  got  five 
months  and  twenty-eight  days  left,  and  there's  hope  yet. 
I  suppose  you  wouldn't  want  to  be  a  Little  Boy  all  the 
time,  and  never  grow  up  at  all,  would  you?"  Freddie 
looked  up  at  him  in  alarm  and  said,  "No,  sir."  "Then," 
said  Mr.  Toby,  "you'd  better  mind  your  P's  and  Q's." 

Freddie  wanted  to  ask  about  these  P's  and  Q's,  but 
you  may  have  noticed  that  he  was  shy,  and  he  could  not 
make  up  his  mind  to  do  so.  He  knew  all  about  P's 
and  Q's  In  the  Alphabet  Book  at  home,  but  he  did  not 
know  how  to  mind  them;  he  knew  how  to  mind  his 
mother, — sometimes,  but  how  could  you  mind  letters  in 
a  book,  that  couldn't  ever  say  "Don't  do  that,"  like 
mother?  He  was  very  anxious  on  this  point,  for  he 
knew  that  his  time  was  growing  short,  and  the  Idea 
of  never  growing  up  was  simply  terrifying;  he  might 
as  well  smoke  cigarettes  and  be  done  with  It.  In  point 
of  fact,  he  now  had  only  about  a  week  left,  and  he 
wasn't  grown  up  yet. 

But  one  morning,  when  the  hands  of  the  church  clock 
were  wide  apart,  and  all  was  safe,  he  passed  by  Mr. 
Punch  and  opened  the  shop  door.  Mr.  Toby  was 
standing  behind  the  counter,  tying  up  a  parcel.  He 
went  on  tying  it  up,  and  said: 

"All  right,  young  feller,  It's  your  turn  next.  This 
here  package  Is  for  the  Sly  Old  Codger,  and  he'll  be 
back  for  It  pretty  soon,  and  If  it  ain't  ready, — whew! 
won't  we  get  blown  up,  though?  Now  then,  what'll 
you  have?    Pound  o'  Maiden's  Prayer?" 


24  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"No,  sir,"  said  the  Little  Boy.  "I  don't  want  any- 
thing.    I  just  came." 

"Oh;  you  just  came.  By  the  way,  young  man,  what 
is  your  name  today?" 

"Freddie!"  said  the  Little  Boy. 

Mr.  Toby  dropped  his  package  and  leaned  across 
the  counter  in  amazement. 

"What's  that  you  say?" 

"Freddie!"  cried  the  Little  Boy,  bursting  with  pride. 

"Well!  Bless  my  soul!  If  I  ever  in  my  life!  As 
sure  as  the  world!  Strike  me  dead  if  he  didn't  say  it 
as  plain  as — !  Young  man,"  said  Mr,  Toby,  solemnly, 
and  he  walked  to, the  end  of  the  counter,  opened  the 
swinging  gate,  came  through,  stood  in  front  of  Freddie, 
and  shook  him  by  the  hand.  "Young  man,  I  congratu- 
late you.  It's  all  right  now.  But  you  had  an  almighty 
close  shave,  I  can  tell  you  that.  Allow  me  to  con- 
gratulate you,  and  accept  the  best  wishes  of  your  kind 
friend,  Toby  Littleback." 

"Please,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  opening  his  eyes  wide, 
"am  I  grown  up  now?" 

Mr.  Toby  stared  without  speaking,  and  then  threw 
out  both  his  arms,  and  for  a  moment  it  looked  as  if 
he  were  going  to  hug  the  Little  Boy,  but  he  evidently 
thought  better  of  it. 

"Are  you — ?     Why,   of  course  you  are!     Ain't  I 
been  telling  you?     But  don't  you  go  and  presume  on 
it  too  much,  young  feller!     You  don't  think  you  can 
go  and  smoke  cigarettes  now,  just  because  you're  grown  c 
up,  do  you?" 

"Oh  no,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  earnestly. 

"I  should  hope  not.  And  that  there  Chinaman's 
head  up  there — you  don't  think  you  can  go  and  smoke 
that  magic  tobacco  now,  do  you?    Because  if  you  do!" 

"No,  sir,"  said  Freddie;  but  he  said  this  a  little 
doubtfully,  and  he  looked  at  the  Chinaman's  head  with 
more  interest  than  ever.     What  was  the  use  of  being 


INTRODUCING  THE  CHURCHWARDEN  25 

grown  up  if  you  couldn't  take  a  little  risk  now  and  then? 

"All  right,  then!"  cried  Mr.  Toby.  "We've  got  to 
have  a  little  celebration  over  this  here  event,  and  we'd 
better  go  in  and  see  Aunt  Amanda  about  it,  right 
now!" 

He  grasped  Freddie's  hand  again,  and  pulled  him 
to  the  back  door,  and  through  into  the  back  room 
where  Aunt  Amanda  was  sitting  by  the  table  with  the 
wax  flowers,  sewing. 

"Quick!  quick!  Tell  Aunt  Amanda  your  name  now, 
quick!     What's  your  name?"  cried  Mr.  Toby. 

"Freddie!"  said  the  Little  Boy,  very  distinctly,  but 
looking  down  at  the  carpet,  for  fear  he  should  seem 
proud. 

"We're  grown  up  today,"  cried  Mr.  Toby,  "and 
we've  got  to  celebrate!" 

Aunt  Amanda  raised  her  eyebrows  in  astonishment, 
and  said: 

"Esheeraybysart !" 

She  put  her  hand  to  her  mouth  and  somehow  got 
out  into  her  hand  a  good  mouthful  of  pins.  She  laid 
them  down  on  the  table  at  her  elbow,  and  said: 

"Bless  the  dear  baby's  heart!  And  are  you  grown 
up  now?" 

"Yes'm,"  said  Freddie,  looking  up  and  then  down 
again,  for  he  did  not  wish  to  seem  too  proud. 

Aunt  Amanda  looked  at  him  for  a  moment,  and 
took  out  her  handkerchief  and  blew  her  nose  very 
loud.  % 

"Toby,"  she  said,  "what  did  you  mean  by  a  cele- 
bration?" 

"Tomorrow's  Saturday,"  said  he. 

"Well,  what  of  it?" 

Freddie  could  not  understand  very  well  what  they 
were  saying  after  that,  except  that  he  was  concerned 
in  it  somehow,  until  he  heard  Aunt  Amanda  say: 

"You'd  better  ask  his  mother,  then." 


26  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"Young  man,"  said  Mr.  Toby,  "if  I  write  a  letter 
to  your  ma,  will  you  give  it  to  her?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  whereupon  Mr.  Toby  sat 
down  at  the  other  side  of  the  table,  with  pen  and 
paper  and  ink,  and  commenced  to  write. 

"First,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "there's  some  of  that 
fruit-cake  from  last  Christmas  still  in  the — " 

"Right  you  are!"  cried  Toby,  jumping  up  and  going 
out  into  the  kitchen. 

Freddie  ate  the  fruit-cake,  sitting  on  a  hassock  at 
Aunt  Amanda's  feet,  while  Toby  went  on  with  his  let- 
ter, but  in  the  midst  of  it  Toby  went  out  again,  and 
finally  came  back  with  a  tall  glass  of  ice-cold  lemonade. 

"Don't  you  go  and  spill  It  on  the  carpet,"  said  he, 
as  he  sat  down  to  his  writing. 

"No,  sir,"  said  Freddie. 

Aunt  Amanda  looked  at  him,  as  he  sat  so  seriously 
on  his  hassock  at  her  feet,  munching  his  fruit-cake 
and  sipping  his  lemonade;  and  she  pulled  out  her 
pocket-handkerchief  and  blew  her  nose  again,  very 
loud.  She  appeared  to  have  a  cold.  Toby  paid  no 
attention  to  her;  his  head  was  lying  sidewise  on  his  left 
arm  on  the  table,  and  he  was  squinting  at  the  sheet 
of  paper,  and  every  time  his  pen  came  down  he  closed 
his  mouth  tight,  and  every  time  his  pen  went  up  he 
opened  his  mouth  wide.  Freddie  and  Aunt  Amanda 
had  plenty  of  time  to  talk.  Under  the  softenlnf;:  In- 
fluence of  fruit-cake  and  lemonade  Freddie  found  his 
tongue. 

"What's  a  Churchwarden?"  he  said  suddenly  Into 
the  lemonade-glass,  which  was  just  under  his  nose. 

"Bless  the  baby!"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"It's  a  long  clay  pipe,  young  man,"  said  Toby,  chew- 
ing the  end  of  his  pen-holder,  "like  you've  seen  in  the 
case  out  there  in  the  shop." 

"That  ain't  what  he  means,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 
"You  mean  a  man,  don't  you,  Freddie?" 


INTRODUCING  THE  CHURCHWARDEN  27 

"Yes'm,"  said  Freddie,  looking  at  the  cake  just 
going  into  his  mouth. 

"It's  a  man,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "it's  a  man  that 
belongs  to  a  church,  and  he  stands  guard  over  the 
church  property,  and  sees  to  the  repairs,  and  beats 
little  boys  with  a  cane  when  they  make  a  noise  during 
service,  and  takes  care  nobody  don't  run  away  with 
the  collection  money,  and " 

"How  do  you  spell  'respectfully'?"  said  Toby, 
scratching  his  head  with  the  pen.  "Yours  respectfully." 

"R-e — "  began  Aunt  Amanda,  "s-p-e-c-k — no,  that 
ain't  right, — r-e-s — " 

"There's  one  over  at  that  church,"  said  Freddie, 
pointing  towards  the  window,  "and  he  smokes  one, 
too." 

"One  what,  Freddie?"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"A  Churchwarden.  There's  a  Churchwarden  sits  out 
on  the  pavement  and  he  smokes  a  Churchwarden,  he 
does."  Freddie  was  rather  proud  that  he  had  mastered 
that  difficult  word,  and  he  liked  to  hear  himself  say  It. 

"Oh,"  said  Toby,  "I  reckon  he  means  the  sextant 
over  there.  Well,  'Yours  respectfully.'  I  don't  give  a 
— hum ! — how  you  spell  it.  There  she  goes.  Done. 
'Yours  respectfully,  Toby  Littleback.'  It's  blotted  up 
some,  by  crackey,  that's  a  fact;  but  I  ain't  agoin'  to 
write  all  that  over  again,  not  by  a  jugful."  And  he 
took  out  his  handkerchief  and  wiped  the  perspiration 
from  his  forehead. 

"He's  a  Churchwarden,"  Insisted  Freddie,  swallow- 
ing the  last  of  the  lemonade  after  the  last  of  the  cake. 

"All  right,"  said  Toby,  "have  It  your  own  way. 
But  a  sextant's  as  good  as  a  Churchwarden,  In  my 
opinion,  any  day  of  the  week, — except  Sunday,  of 
course." 

Aunt  Amanda  Inspected  the  letter,  and  declared  her- 
self horrified  by  the  blots;  but  Toby  positively  refused 
to  go  through  that  exhausting  labor  again,  so  she  passed 


28  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

It  grudgingly,  and  handed  it  to  Freddie  in  an  envelope, 
and  told  him  to  give  it  to  his  mother  as  soon  as  he  got 
home. 

''Do  you  want  some  more  cake  and  lemonade?" 
said  she. 

"Yes'm,"  said  he. 

"Well,  you  won't  get  It,  so  trot  along  home." 

In  the  shop  Mr.  Toby  showed  him  the  churchwarden 
pipes  in  the  show-case.  Freddie  wondered  how  it 
would  taste  to  smoke  some  of  that  magic  tobacco  in  the 
Chinaman's  head  in  a  churchwarden  pipe. 

As  he  passed  the  church  on  his  way  home,  he  looked 
for  the  fat  old  man  who  usually  sat  in  his  chair  tilted 
back  against  the  wall,  but  he  was  not  there.  Freddie 
wished  to  ask  him  about  those  noises  up  in  the  tower 
when  Mr.  Punch  and  his  father  were  having  their 
high  jinks;  he  had  never  been  able  to  screw  up  his 
courage  to  the  point  of  asking  about  this,  but  now  that 
he  was  grown  up  he  thought  he  might  be  able. 

He  gave  the  letter  to  his  mother,  and  she  read  It; 
but  she  said  nothing  to  him  about  it.  When  his  father 
came  home  in  the  evening,  she  showed  the  letter  to 
him,  and  they  talked  about  it,  and  Freddie  could  not 
understand  very  well  what  they  were  saying.  Finally 
his  father  said: 

"Well,  I  don't  think  there  would  be  any  harm  In  it." 

"I  suppose  not,"  said  his  mother.  "Fll  see  them 
In  the  morning.  He  had  better  wear  his  Sunday  suit 
and  his  new  shoes." 

This  was  bad,  because  it  sounded  like  Sunday-school, 
and  the  shoes  squeaked.  Freddie  thought  he  had  better 
change  the  subject,  so  he  said: 

"Fm  grown  up.  I  can  say  Freddie.  Mr.  Toby 
says  so." 

His  father  laughed,  hut  his  mother  took  him  up  In 
her  arms  and  hugged  him  close  to  her  breast. 

The  next  day  was  In  fact  Saturday,  and  after  lunch. 


INTRODUCING  THE  CHURCHWARDEN  29 

Freddie's  mother  helped  him,  or  rather  forced  him, 
into  his  Sunday  suit  and  his  new  shoes,  after  a  really 
outrageous  piece  of  washing,  which  went  not  only  be- 
hind the  ears  but  actually  into  them.  She  put  his  cap 
on  his  head — he  always  had  to  move  it  a  trifle  after- 
wards,— looked  at  his  finger-nails  again,  pulled  down 
his  jacket  in  front  and  buttoned  every  button,  straight- 
ened out  each  of  the  four  wings  of  his  bow  tie,  took 
off  his  cap  to  see  if  his  hair  was  mussed  and  put  it  on 
again,  pulled  down  his  jacket  in  front,  straightened 
his  tie,  altered  the  position  of  his  cap,  put  both  her 
arms  around  him  and  kissed  him,  and  told  him  it  was 
nearly  two  o'clock  and  he  had  better  hurry.  As  soon 
as  she  had  gone  in,  after  watching  him  go  off  down  the 
street,  he  unbuttoned  every  button  of  his  jacket,  put 
his  cap  on  the  back  of  his  head,  and  In  crossing  the 
street-car  track  deliberately  walked  his  shiny  squeak- 
ing shoes  into  a  pile  of  street-sweepings;  he  then  felt 
better,  and  went  on  towards  the  Old  Tobacco  Shop. 

As  he  came  to  the  church,  he  stopped  to  look  at  the 
hands  of  the  clock;  he  was  in  luck;  the  hands  would 
not  be  together  for  ever  so  long,  for  it  was  ten  minutes 
to  two.  The  Churchwarden  was  sitting  in  his  chair 
tilted  back  against  the  wall,  keeping  guard  over  his 
church;  and  he  was  smoking  his  churchwarden  pipe. 
Freddie  walked  by  very  slowly,  and  his  shoes  squeaked 
aloud  on  the  brick  pavement.  The  fat  old  man  gazed 
at  him  solemnly,  and  Freddie  looked  at  the  fat  old 
man.  The  Churchwarden's  chair  came  down  on  the 
pavement  with  a  thump. 

"Look  here  !"  he  said.  "This  ain't  Sunday !  What's 
the  meaning  of  all  this?  It's  against  the  rules  to  wear 
them  squeaking  shoes  of  a  Saturday!  The  Dean  and 
Chapter  has  made  that  rule,  by  and  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  City  Council,  don't  you  know  that? 
And  all  that  big  red  necktie,  too!  Did  you  think  it 
was  Sunday?" 


30  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"No,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  for  he  was  always  honest, 
even  in  the  face  of  danger.  "I  couldn't  help  it.  I 
didn't  want  to,  but  mother  made  me " 

"Ah!  that's  it.  I  thought  maybe  you'd  made  a  mis- 
take in  the  day;  then  it  wouldn't  'a'  been  so  bad.  Look 
here;  it's  my  duty  to  report  this  here  violation  of  the 
Sunday  law,  but  as  long  as — you're  sure  you  ain't 
particeps  criminis?" 

"No,  sir,"  said  the  Little  Boy  earnestly.  "My 
name's  Freddie." 

"Well,  that  makes  it  different.  I  though  you  was 
another  party;  young  party-ceps;  but  if  you  ain't,  why 
— Here;  you'll  need  something  to  show,  in  case  you 
should  meet  the  Archdeacon,  and  he'd  want  to  know 
why  I  hadn't  reported  you —  Show  him  this,  and  he'll 
know  it's  all  right." 

The  fat  Churchwarden  fished  In  his  vest  pocket  and 
drew  out,  between  a  fat  thumb  and  a  fat  forefinger, 
a  round  shining  piece  of  metal,  and  put  It  In  Freddie's 
hand.  Freddie  saw  that  it  was  a  bright  new  five-cent 
piece,  commonly  called  a  nickel.    He  felt  better. 

"If  you  don't  meet  the  Archdeacon  between  here 
and  LIttleback's  Tobacco  Shop,"  went  on  the  Church- 
warden, "you  don't  need  to  keep  It  any  longer;  I  don't 
care  what  you  do  with  it  then;  only  not  pickles,  mind 
you !" 

"No  sir,"  said  Freddie. 

This  was  his  chance  to  Inquire  about  Mr.  Punch's 
father  and  the  noises  In  the  tower,  but  It  was  out  of 
his  power  to  stay  longer;  he  was  too  glad  to  escape 
without  being  reported;  and  he  accordingly  went  off 
down  the  street,  squeaking  worse  than  ever,  and  posi- 
tively hurrying. 


CHAPTER  IV 

IN  WHICH  MR.  HANLON  MAKES  A  GREAT  IMPRESSION 

FREDDIE  found  no  one  in  the  Tobacco  Shop,  so 
he  knocked  on  the  door  of  the  back  room,  and 
it  was  instantly  opened  by  Mr.  Littleback  him- 
self; but  a  Mr.  Littleback  so  resplendent  that  Freddie 
hardly  knew  him. 

The  suit  of  clothes  which  Mr.  Littleback  wore  was 
beyond  any  doubt  a  brand  new  suit.  The  ground  color 
of  it  was  a  rich  mauve,  if  you  know  what  that  is;  not 
exactly  purple,  nor  violet,  but  somewhere  in  between; 
and  up  and  down  and  across  were  stripes  of  brown, 
making  good-sized  squares  all  over  him;  it  was  ex- 
tremely beautiful.  His  collar  was  a  high  white  collar, 
very  stiff,  and  it  held  up  his  chin  in  front  like  a  white- 
washed fence.  His  necktie  was  of  a  pale-blue  satin, 
with  little  pink  roses  painted  on  It,  yes  sir,  painted! 
mind  you,  by  hand!  It  was  not  one  of  those  trouble- 
some things  that  come  in  a  single  long  piece  and  take 
you  hours  before  the  glass  to  twist  and  turn  over  and 
under  before  you  can  get  them  to  look  like  a  necktie; 
no  indeed;  it  was  far  better  than  that;  it  was  tied 
already,  by  somebody  who  could  do  it  better  than  you 
ever  could,  and  when  you  bought  It,  all  you  had  to 
do  was  to  put  it  on;  fasten  those  two  rubber  bands 
behind  with  a  hook,  and  there  you  were;  perfect.  As 
to  hair,  the  hand  of  the  barber  was  yet  upon  him;  his 
hair,  parted  on  one  side,  was  of  a  slickness  which  his 
own  soap  never  could  have  accomplished;  on  the  wide 
side,  it  lay  flat  down  over  his  forehead,  and  there  gave 
a  sudden  curl  backward,  like  the  curve  of  a  hairpin, 

31 


32  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

but  much  more  graceful;  it  is  only  the  most  studious 
barbers  who  ever  learn  to  do  it  just  right.  There 
were  creases  down  the  arms  of  Mr.  Toby's  coat  and 
down  the  front  of  his  trouser-legs.  A  yellow  silk  hand- 
kerchief showed  itself,  not  boldly,  but  quietly,  from  his 
breast  pocket. 

As  he  let  Freddie  in,  and  in  doing  so  turned  his  back 
to  Aunt  Amanda,  she  screamed  and  cried  out: 

"T  oby !     Look  behind  you  1     Merciful  heavens  !" 

Freddie,  in  the  midst  of  his  admiration  of  the  mag- 
nificent creature,  saw  him  whirl  about  and  look  behind 
himself  in  alarm.  His  aunt  pointed  at  his  coat  and 
said  sternly,  "Come  here." 

Freddie  saw  on  the  back  of  Mr.  Toby's  coat,  near 
the  bottom,  as  he  whirled  about,  a  little  square  white 
tag. 

Mr.  Toby  backed  up  to  his  aunt,  and  stood  before 
her,  trying  to  look  at  his  back  over  his  shoulder,  while 
she  took  her  scissors  and  clipped  the  threads  by  which 
the  white  tag  was  sewed  to  the  back  of  his  coat.  She 
held  up  the  tag;  it  had  numbers  printed  and  written 
on  it. 

"Now  ain't  that  just  like  you,  Toby  LIttleback,"  she 
said,  "going  out  with  your  tag  on  your  back,  with  your 
size  on  it  and  your  height  and  age,  too,  for  all  I  know, 
for  anybody  to  see  that  you've  got  on  a  splittin'  brand 
new  suit  right  out  o'  the  shop.  If  you'd  'a'  gone  out 
with  that  on  your  back,  I'd  'a'  died  with  shame  right 
here  in  this  chair.  Ain't  you  even  able  to  dress  your- 
self?" 

"By  crickets,  that  would  'a'  been  bad,"  said  Toby, 
considerably  upset.  "However,  you  caught  it  in  time, 
so  there  ain't  no  use  cryin'  over  it.  Good-bye,  Aunt; 
come  along,  Freddie,  or  we'll  be  late." 

"Ain't  you  goin'  to  wear  a  hat?"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 
"I  declare  the  man's  so  excited  he  don't  know  what  he's 
doing."- 


MR.  HANLON  MAKES  AN  IMPRESSION  33 

"Blamed  If  I  didn't  come  near  going  without  a  hat," 
said  Toby.  "Here  she  is." 

He  produced  his  hat  from  a  cupboard  In  the  room, 
and  put  it  on.  It  would  have  been  a  pity  indeed  for 
him  to  have  gone  without  It.  It  was  a  white  derby; 
yes,  a  while  derby.  It  was  the  kind  of  a  hat  which 
was  known  in  that  city  as  a  "pinochle";  pronounced 
"pea-knuckle"  by  all  well-informed  boys.  With  the 
mauve  suit  and  the  hand-painted  necktie  and  the  white- 
washed fence,  the  white  derby  set  him  off  to  perfec- 
tion, especially  as  he  wore  It  a  little  towards  the  back 
of  his  head,  so  as  to  show  the  loveliest  part  of  the 
plastered  curl  of  his  hair  on  the  forehead.  Aunt 
Amanda  could  not  restrain  her  admiration. 

"You'll  do  now,"  she  said.  "I  don't  know  that  I 
ever  seen  you  look  so  genteel  before." 

Toby,  in  the  embarrassment  of  being  considered  gen- 
teel, put  his  hands  In  his  trousers  pockets. 

"Take  them  hands  out  of  your  pockets,"  said  Aunt 
Amanda  sharply,  and  he  took  them  out  in  a  hurry. 

"Now,  Freddie,"  she  said,  "come  here  a  minute,  and 
I'll  set  you  to  rights." 

Freddie  stood  before  her  knee,  not  very  willingly, 
and  she  buttoned  his  jacket  from  top  to  bottom,  and 
put  his  cap  squarely  on  his  head. 

"Now  you'd  better  be  off,"  she  said. 

"Good-bye,  Aunt,  and  I  wish  you  were  going  too," 
said  Toby,  his  hand  on  the  door-knob. 

"Good-bye,  Freddie,"  said  she. 

"Good-bye,"  said  Freddie. 

"Good-bye  what?"  said  she. 

"Aunt  Amanda,"  said  he. 

When  they  were  out  in  the  street,  and  she  heard 
Toby  lock  the  shop  door  behind  him,  she  took  out 
her  handkerchief  and  blew  her  nose;  her  cold  was 
evidently  worse,  because  she  blew  her  nose  several 
times;  and  then,  tucking  her  handkerchief  away  in  her 


34  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

dress,  she  put  her  head  down  on  her  arm  on  the  table, 
and  cried. 

The  first  thing  Freddie  did,  as  they  went  up  th'e 
street,  was  to  put  his  cap  back  again  on  the  back  of 
his  head,  and  the  next  thing  he  did  was  to  unbutton 
every  button  of  his  jacket,  from  top  to  bottom. 

The  little  hunchback  w^as  in  a  great  hurry,  and  he 
dragged  the  Little  Boy  along  by  the  hand  so  fast  that 
he  could  hardly  keep  up.  As  they  hurried  along,  sev- 
eral naughty  boys,  observing  Mr.  Toby's  white  derby 
hat,  called  after  him,  very  rudely,  "Pea-knuckle!  pea- 
knuckle  !"  But  Mr.  Toby  paid  no  attention,  and 
dragged  Freddie  along  faster  than  ever. 

"We  don't  want  to  miss  any  of  it,"  said  Mr.  Toby. 
"Hurry  up,  boy." 

They  did  not  have  far  to  go;  only  four  or  five 
"squares."  They  stopped  before  a  great  grimy  brick 
building  with  a  great  wide  entrance-way. 

"Here  we  are,"  said  Toby. 

"What  does  that  say  up  there?"  said  Freddie. 

"Gaunt  Street  Theatre,"  said  Toby.     "Hurry  up." 

Freddie  hung  back  before  a  signboard  on  which 
was  a  picture  of  a  slender  man  dressed  up  in  white 
clothing,  very  tight,  with  red  and  black  squares  on  it; 
he  was  leaning  against  a  table;  his  head  and  face  were 
a  dead  white,  except  for  red  eyebrows,  and  a  red  spot 
in  each  cheek,  and  he  had  no  hair,  but  a  smooth  dead- 
white  skin  from  his  forehead  to  the  back  of  his  neck. 
The  peculiar  thing  was,  that  his  head  was  on  the  table 
beside  him,  and  not  on  his  neck.  Freddie  pointed  to 
the  writing  underneath  the  picture,  and  said: 

"What  does  that  say?" 

"Hanlon's  Superba,"  said  Toby,  pulling  him  along. 
"Hurry  up!     We'll  be  late."  ^ 

Mr.  Littleback  went  to  a  little  window  In  the  wall. 
Inside  the  entrance-way,  and  spoke  to  a  man  in  there, 
and  evidently  asked  permission  to  go  In,  and  evidently 


MR.  HANLON  MAKES  AN  IMPRESSION  3s 

got  it;  and  they  did  go  in,  up  a  flight  of  stairs,  and 
found  themselves  suddenly  among  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  people,  as  it  seemed,  all  sitting  in  chairs  facing 
the  same  way,  in  a  vast  house  lit  up  by  gas  light  so 
that  it  was  almost  as  bright  as  day;  and  Toby  and 
Freddie  sat  down  in  the  very  front  row  of  these  people, 
and  looked  down  over  a  railing  in  front  of  them  on 
the  heads  of  thousands  and  thousands,  as  it  seemed,, 
of  other  people,  all  sitting  in  chairs  facing  the  same 
way.  Everybody  was  facing  towards  a  straight  wall 
at  the  other  side  of  the  house,  which  had  pictures 
painted  on  it.  At  the  foot  of  this  wall,  in  a  kind  of 
trench,  there  was  a  man  at  a  piano,  and  there  were 
other  men  with  fiddles  big  and  little,  and  still  others 
with  brass  things,  and  they  were  all  playing  a  tre- 
mendous tune  together,  but  just  after  Toby  and  Fred- 
die had  sat  down,  they  stopped  playing  and  Toby 
nudged  Freddie  with  his  elbow,  and  said: 

"Now,  then,  young  feller,  what  do  you  think  of  this, 
eh?    Just  you  wait!     Keep  your  eye  on  that  curtain!" 

He  had  no  sooner  said  this  than  somewhere  in  the 
house  somebody  gave  a  piercing  whistle  between  his 
fingers,  and  in  a  minute  there  was  such  a  racket  that  it 
was  impossible  to  talk.  There  must  have  been  people 
above  them,  and  they  must  certainly  Have  all  been 
boys;  for  from  up  there  Freddie  heard  a  clapping  of 
hands  and  a  stamping  of  feet,  all  in  a  regular  time, 
which  spread  to  the  whole  house,  and  in  the  midst  of 
it  the  boys  up  there  began  to  shout  and  call  and 
whistle,  and  in  a  few  minutes  there  was  such  a  hubbub 
as  only  boys  could  make,  with  whistling  between  the 
fingers  leading  the  riot.  Toby  nudged  Freddie  again 
with  his  elbow,  and  to  Freddie's  surprise  began  to 
clap  his  hands  and  stamp  his  feet  with  the  rest;  and  as 
Freddie  thought  he  ought  to  be  polite,  he  clapped  his 
hands,  too,  though  he  did  not  know  very  well  what  It 
was  all  about. 


1,6  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Suddenly  the  men  in  the  trench  at  the  foot  of  the 
painted  wall  struck  up  again,  and  that  quieted  the 
other  noise  for  a  moment;  but  only  for  a  moment; 
someone  whistled  through  his  fingers,  and  in  an  in- 
stant those  fiddlers  might  as  well  have  been  sawing 
away  at  their  fiddles  out  at  the  Park,  for  all  you  could 
hear  them;  and  right  in  the  midst  of  It  all,  while  Fred- 
die was  trying  to  shout  the  word  "Peanuts"  into  Toby's 
ear,  suddenly  the  lights  v/ent  out  and  you  could  have 
heard  a  pin  drop. 

"Now  then!  now  then!"  whispered  Mr.  Toby,  in 
great  excitement.  "Now  you'll  see!  Watch  the  cur- 
tain!    It's  going  up!" 

From  down  there  In  that  dark  trench  came  the  sound 
of  a  soft  twittery  kind  of  music,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  painted  wall  that  Freddie  had  been  looking  at  was 
rising!  going  up!  And  it  went  on  up  and  up  out  of 
sight  into  the  ceiling,  and  there  behind  It,  in  a  dim 
light,  there  behind  it,  mysterious  and  fearsome  and 
delicious, — Well,  there  behind  it  was  Fairyland.  Just 
Fairyland. 

I  can't  describe  it  to  you.  Freddie  never  forgot  It. 
If  you  haven't  seen  Hanlon's  Superba,  In  some  old 
Gaunt  Street  Theatre  or  other,  on  a  Saturday  after- 
noon, with  the  galleries  wild  with  boys,  you  have  not 
lived.  When  Freddie  tried  to  tell  his  mother  and  his 
father  about  it  that  night,  it  was  such  a  v/hlrling  mass 
of  wonders  and  glories  that  they  could  not  make 
head  nor  tail  of  it.  It  is  useless  to  speak  of  the  Fairy 
Queen  In  her  glittering  white,  coming  to  the  rescue 
in  the  nick  of  time  with  her  diamond  sceptre,  or  of  the 
horrible  demons,  or  the  trouble  and  excitement  they 
made  for  everybody,  or  of  the  beautiful  young  lady 
who— and  such  leapings  and  twistlngs  and  cllmblngs 
and  tumblings  as  no  mere  human  beings  with  bones 
in  them  could  ever  have  performed — it  is  no  use;  it  is 
best  not  to  try  to  describe  it.     But  there  was  one  part 


MR.  HANLON  MAKES  AN  IMPRESSION  37 

which,  although  it  may  seem  to  you  the  most  unlikely 
thing  in  the  world,  really  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with 
Freddie  afterwards.  There  was  the  same  man  whose 
picture  he  had  seen  outside  on  the  signboard;  and  he 
could  climb  straight  walls  and  leap  through  high  win- 
dows and  tumble  across  floors  in  a  way  which  passed 
belief;  but  there  was  one  thing  he  could  not  do;  he 
could  not  talk;  he  never  spoke  a  word  from  beginning 
to  end.  Once,  after  having  escaped  from  a  parcel  of 
wicked  red  imps,  he  sat  down,  tired  out  and  starved 
to  death,  before  a  table  loaded  with  food,  and  he 
commenced  to  make  a  hearty  meal;  but  just  as  he  was 
about  to  sample  each  plate  It  disappeared,  vanished, 
completely  out  of  sight,  right  under  his  nose.  His  dis- 
tress was  pitiable,  and  Freddie  thought  it  cruel  of 
everybody  to  laugh,  as  everybody  did.  On  his  plate 
were  sausages,  and  he  nearly  got  them;  but  just  as  he 
thought  he  had  them,  they  actually  jumped  off  the  table 
and  ran  along  the  floor  and  up  the  wall;  and  the  poor 
man  had  to  climb  the  wall  after  them,  which  he  did  like 
a  cat,  and  even  then  he  never  came  up  with  them;  he 
was  terribly  disappointed;  and  to  finish  off  his  miseries, 
at  last  a  wicked  creature  with  a  sword  came  up  behind 
him,  as  he  was  leaning  his  head  down  on  the  table  In 
despair,  and  cut  off  his  'head  before  your  very  eyes; 
really  and  truly  cut  it  off;  there  was  no  doubt  about 
it;  the  head  was  on  the  table  and  the  poor  man  was  In 
the  chair;  Freddie  was  terrified,  and  clutched  Mr. 
Toby's  arm.  But  when  the  wicked  murderer  had  gone 
away,  back  popped  the  head  onto  the  dead  man's  neck, 
his  eyes  opened,  he  grinned  from  ear  to  ear,  and  there 
he  was  on  his  feet,  skipping  and  tumbling,  as  lively 
as  ever;  and  at  that  Freddie  and  all  the  others  In  the 
house  roared  and  shouted  and  clapped  their  hands. 

"Is  that  Mr.  Hanlon?"  whispered  Freddie  Into  Mr. 
Toby's  ear. 


38  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"Reckon  It  is,"  said  Toby,  too  excited  himself  to 
pay  much  attention  to  Freddie. 

But  it  could  not  last  forever.  Even  the  peanuts, 
which  Toby  bought  for  Freddie  between  the  first  and 
second  acts,  were  all  gone,  and  the  curtain  was  down 
for  the  last  time,  and  the  crowd  crushed  through  the 
doors,  and  Mr.  Toby  put  on  his  white  derby  hat. 

They  were  in  the  street,  and  the  speechless  Mr. 
Hanlon  was  a  thing  of  the  past.  Freddie  did  not 
believe  that  he  would  ever  see  that  dumb  and  loose- 
headed  man  again;  but  In  that  he  was  mistaken,  as  you 
shall  see. 

Toby  left  him  at  the  corner  near  his  father's  house. 

"What  I  say  is,"  said  Toby,  "three  cheers  for  our 
growing-up  party!" 

"Yes,"  said  Freddie,  "and  three  cheers  for  Mr. 
Hanlon!" 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  CHINAMAN^S  HEAD 

FOR  a  long  time  afterwards,  Freddie  dreamed  at 
night  of  a  hunchbacked  man  whose  head  came 
off  and  popped  on  again,  and  wicked  red  demons 
who  chased  a  poor  man  with  a  white  face  who  tried 
to  cry  for  help  and  could  not  speak  a  word,  and  of  a 
Chinaman's  head  without  a  body,  smoking  a  long  clay 
pipe.  In  the  daytime,  he  thought  a  good  deal  about 
the  people  he  was  now  acquainted  with:  Mr.  Toby 
with  his  white  derby  hat.  Aunt  Amanda  swallowing 
pins,  the  sailorman  from  China,  Mr.  Punch  and  his 
father,  Mr.  Hanlon  with  his  head  on  the  table,  the 
Churchwarden  smoking  his  churchwarden  pipe,  and  the 
two  old  Codgers,  one  so  sly  and  the  other  so  beggarly; 
but  that  which  occupied  his  mind  more  than  anything 
else  was  the  Chinaman's  head  on  Mr.  Toby's  shelf. 

Freddie  was  older  now,  and  as  time  went  on  it 
might  be  thought  that  he  would  have  grown  accustomed 
to  all  these  strange  things;  but  he  had  not;  far  from 
it;  he  thought  about  them  more  and  more,  and  most 
of  all  about  the  Chinaman's  head  and  the  magic  to- 
bacco. He  really  could  not  get  that  Chinaman's  head 
out  of  his  mind.  Here  was  magic  just  within  reach  of 
your  hand,  and  you  were  told  that  you  mustn't  touch 
it.  You  might  as  well  have  Aladdin's  lamp  in  your 
bureau  drawer,  and  be  told  to  keep  away  from  the 
bureau;  even  parents  ought  to  know  better  than  to 
expect  such  a  thing.  Anyway,  what  harm  could  just 
one  or  two  little  whiffs  do?  You  needn't  smoke  a  whole 
pipeful,  if  you  didn't  want  to.     However,  Mr.  Toby 

39 


40  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

would  not  be  pleased,  and  Freddie  did  not  intend  to  do 
anything  to  displease  Mr.  Toby.  Still,  it  did  seem  a 
pity,  with  such  a  chance  right  over  your  head — Oh, 
well,  he  would  think  no  more  about  it;  he  fixed  his  mind 
on  other  things;  he  thought  especially  about  a  hymn 
they  sang  nearly  every  Sunday  in  Sunday-school;  it  was 
a  great  help ;  he  knew  it  by  heart,  and  it  went  like  this : 

"Yield  not  to  temptation, 
For  yielding  is  sin. 
Each  vict'ry  will  help  you 
Some  other  to  win." 

He  resolved  he  would  never  think  about  the  magic 
tobacco  again;  he  went  to  sleep  saying  over  to  him- 
self, "Yield  not  to  temptation,"  and  dreamed  all  night 
about  the  Chinaman's  head,  and  thought  about  it  all 
the  next  day. 

In  order  to  get  it  out  of  his  mind,  he  called  on  Aunt 
Amanda.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon;  he  sat  on  his 
hassock  and  watched  Aunt  Amanda  sewing.  Mr.  Toby 
was  in  the  shop,  waiting  on  customers.  Freddie  watched 
for  a  long  time,  and  then  said: 

"What  are  you  doing?" 

"Basting,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"I  thought  that  was  what  you  did  to  a  turkey,"  said 
Freddie. 

"So  it  Is,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"That  isn't  a  turkey,"  said  Freddie. 

"No,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "you  baste  a  turkey  with 
gravy." 

"That  isn't  gravy,"  said  Freddie. 

"It's  different,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "You  see,  I 
have  to  sew  this  up  with  needle  and  thread,  and " 

"You  sew  up  a  turkey  with  needle  and  thread,  too," 
said  Freddie. 


THE  CHINAMAN'S  HEAD  41 

"But  that's  different,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "You 
couldn't  baste  a  turkey  with  needle  and  thread,  and 
you  couldn't  baste  dress-goods  with  gravy '' 

"Why  not?"  said  Freddie. 

"Well,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "well,  you  see,  they 
don't  do  it  that  way;  it's  different;  it  ain't  the  same 
thing  at  all ;  it's  like  this ;  when  you  baste  a  turkey " 

"Have  you  ever 'had  any  children?"  said  Freddie. 

Aunt  Amanda  put  her  hand  to  her  heart  suddenly, 
as  if  she  had  received  a  shot  there,  and  caught  her 
breath;  then  she  looked  out  of  the  window,  and  then, 
round  at  the  wax  flowers  on  the  table,  and  then  at  the 
door,  and  she  really  seemed  tO'  be  thinking  of  running 
away.  But  she  was  too  lame  to  do  that,  and  she  at 
last  clasped  her  fingers  together  tight  in  her  lap,  and 
looked  hard  at  Freddie.  He  was  gazing  at  her  calmly, 
waiting  for  information. 

"No,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "I  have  never — had — 
any — children." 

"Why  not?"  said  Freddie. 

"I  have — never — been  married,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

Freddie  thought  about  this  for  a  moment. 

"Didn't  anybody  ever  want  you?"  said  he. 

"No,"  said  she,  "nobody — ever — wanted — me." 

Freddie  was  puzzled. 

"But  you're  nice,"  said  he. 

"That  ain't  enough,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"What  else  do  you  have  to  be?" 

""You  have  to  be  pretty." 

"Weren't  you  ever  pretty?" 

"I  thought — so — once,  but — ^but — I  must  have  been 
mistaken.     I  guess  I  never  was." 

Freddie  thought  it  over,  and  announced  his  decision 
seriously. 

"/  would  want  you,  anyway." 


42  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Aunt  Amanda  stretched  out  a  trembling  hand  to 
him  and  ran  her  fingers  throug'h  his  hair;  then  she 
threw  both  her  arms  around  him  and  pressed  him 
against  her  knee.  He  was  much  annoyed.  He  was 
afraid  she  might  be  going  to  kiss  him;  but  she  did  not; 
instead,  she  pulled  out  her  handkerchief  and  blew  her 
nose. 

"How  many  children  were  there  that  you  didn't 
have?"  said  Freddie,  to  change  the  subject.  Aunt 
Amanda  did  not  understand  this  at  first,  but  she  finally 
saw  what  he  meant.  What  did  he  mean?  you  may  say. 
What  he  meant  was — well,  it  is  perfectly  clear,  but  it 
Is  hard  to  explain.  Anyway,  Aunt  Amanda  under- 
stood him.  "Three,"  said  she.  "Bobby  was  the  oldest, 
and  Jenny  next,  and  James  was  the  littlest  one." 

"Did  they  all  go  to  school?" 

"Oh  dear  no.  Only  Bobby.  And  once  he  played 
hookey,  and  was  gone  all  day,  and  didn't  come  home 
until  after  dark,  all  muddy.  I  was  terribly  worried. 
He  was  a  very  mischievous  boy,  but  he  was  his — 
mother's — own " 

"Did  he  play  marbles  for  keeps?" 

"Yes,  but  he  went  to  Sunday-school  just  as  regular, 
and  liked  it,  and " 

"He  liked  it?" 

"Yes,  of  course,  and  he  always  took  good  care  of 

Jenny .     She  had  little  yellow  curls.     They  went 

to  Sunday-school  together  hand  in  hand,  and  he  didn't 
even  mind  her  carrying  her  dolly  with  her;  she  wouldn't 
go  without  it.  He  was  so  careful  of  her  at  street- 
crossings.  She  loved  her  dollies.  She  used  to  pretend 
that  James  was  one  of  them." 

"Did  James  like  that?" 

"Not  very  well,  but  he  put  up  with  it  for  quite  a 
few  minutes  at  a  time.     He  couldn't  be  still  very  long. 


THE  CHINAMAN'S  HEAD  43 

But  he  was  pretty  lonesome  when  Jenny  had  the 
measles." 

"I've  had  the  chicken-pox.  Did  Bobby  know  how 
to  mind  his  P's  and  Q's?" 

"He  didn't  mind  anybody  very  well.  Once  I  had  a 
note  from  his  teacher,  and  it  said " 

But  Freddie  never  learned  what  sin  Bobby  had  com- 
mitted in  school;  for  at  that  moment  the  shop  door 
opened,  and  Mr.  Toby  thrust  in  his  head  and  said: 

"Just  got  to  get  around  to  the  barber-shop  right 
away  this  minute;  can't  put  it  off  no  longer.  Won't 
be  gone  twenty  minutes.     Freddie !" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  standing  up. 

"Do  you  think  you  could  look  after  the  shop  for 
twenty  minutes,  while  I'm  gone?" 

Now  Freddie  did  not  know  it,  but  this  was  in  fact 
the  most  important  question  that  had  ever  been  put 
to  him  in  his  life.  Everything  depended  on  his  answer; 
if  he  said  no,  we  might  as  well  stop  this  story  right 
here;  if  he  said  yes 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie. 

"All  right.  If  anybody  comes  in,  just  tell  'em  to 
wait." 

Freddie  left  Aunt  Amanda,  sitting  very  still,  and 
gazing  out  of  the  window,  with  her  hands  folded  in 
her  lap,  and  followed  Mr.  Toby  into  the  shop. 

"All  right,  sonny,"  said  Mr.  Toby,  "make  yourself 
comfortable.  I'll  be  back  in  a  jiffy.  If  anybody  comes 
in,  you  tell  'em  to  wait."  And  with  that  he  went  out 
of  the  door  and  up  the  street.  Freddie  was  left  alone 
in  the  shop. 

Everything  was  very  quiet  now,  for  It  was  beginning 
to  be  twilight,  and  all  the  people  seemed  to  be  indoors. 
He  knew  he  ought  to  be  going  home,  but  he  had  prom- 
ised to  mind  the  shop,  and  it  would  never  do  to  leave 
before  Mr.  Toby  came  back.  The  street  door  and  the 
door  to  Aunt  Amanda's  room  were  both  closed.     He 


44  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

sat  down  on  the  chair  by  the  front  window  and  looked 
out  across  the  bull-dog's  head.  He  thought  of  Bobby 
and  his  little  sister  in  Sunday-school,  and  that  led  him 
to  think  of  the  hymn  that  did  him  so  much  good : 

"Yield  not  to  temptation, 
For  yielding  is  sin." 

He  sang  that  tune  to  himself  for  a  while,  and  he 
found  himself  singing  other  tunes,  and  finally  one  which 
began : 

"There  was  an  old  codger,  and  he  had  a 
wooden  leg, 
And  he  never  bought  tobacco  when  to- 
bacco he  could  beg." 

Tobacco !  There  was  a  world  of  tobacco  on  those 
shelves.  Smoking  tobacco,  and  churchwarden  pipes. 
He  strolled  around  behind  the  counter,  and  let  down 
the  back  of  the  show-case.  There  were  the  church- 
warden pipes;  he  selected  one  and  took  it  out.  It 
tasted  cold  and  clammy  when  he  put  it  in  his  mouth, 
and  he  wondered  what  it  would  taste  like  with  tobacco 
in  it.  He  brought  the  little  ladder  and  got  up  on  it, 
facing  the  shelves,  and  to  his  surprise  he  found  himself 
looking  directly  into  the  slanting  eyes  of  the  porcelain 
Chinaman's  head.  He  stood  there  gazing  thought- 
fully into  those  eyes,  and  singing  to  himself  the  verse 
, which  was  always  such  a  help  to  him: 

"Yield  not  to  temptation, 
For  yielding  is  sin, 
Each  vict'ry  will  help  you 
Some  other  to  win." 

It  was  growing  a  little  darker  now,  and  he  could 
not  examine  the  Chinaman's  head  very  well  without 
bringing  it  closer.  He  took  the  head  in  his  hands, 
lifted  it  from  the  shelf,  got  down  off  the  ladder,  and 
sat  down  on  the  floor  with  his  back  against  the  counter; 


THE  CHINAMAN'S  HEAD  45 

and  while  he  was  doing  this  he  hummed  to  himself  the 
next  part  of  his  tune : 

"Fight  manfully  onward, 
Dark  passions  subdue." 

He  put  the  head  on  his  knees,  and  took  off  the  China- 
man's little  round  cap,  which  proved  to  be  in  fact  a 
lid.  He  put  his  hand  inside  and  drew  out  a  good 
fistful  of  absolutely  black  tobacco,  fine  and  powdery 
like  coal-dust;  he  held  it  to  his  nose,  and  it  smelt  very 
sweet,  in  fact  much  like  brown  sugar.  He  wondered 
if  it  would  taste  like  brown  sugar  through  the  pipe- 
stem;  and  humming  quietly  to  himself,  "Each  vict'ry 
will  help  you,"  he  poured  the  tobacco  into  the  bowl  of 
the  pipe.  He  was  disappointed,  on  sucking  in  through 
the  pipe-stem,  to  find  that  there  was  no  brown-sugar 
taste  at  all.  Of  course,  the  only  way  to  give  tobacco 
any  taste  was  to  light  it;  he  reached  up  and  got  a  match 
off  the  counter  behind  him,  and  sitting  down  again 
struck  the  match  on  the  floor.  It  made  a  very  pretty 
glow  in  the  twilight,  and  he  watched  it  as  it  burned 
away  in  his  fingers;  it  would  be  burnt  out  in  another 
second,  so,  humming  to  himself  those  ever-helpful 
words,  "Yield  not  to  temptation,"  he  put  the  pipe  in 
his  mouth  and  touched  the  lighted  match  to  the  tobacco. 

It  is  painful  to  have  to  tell  these  things,  but  it  can't 
be  helped;  for  the  consequences  were  so  strange,  and 
so  important  to  Freddie  and  his  friends,  that 

Anyway,  he  lit  the  pipe  and  drew  in  a  long  breath 
through  the  stem.  He  nearly  choked  to  death.  Smoke 
got  into  his  nose  and  his  eyes  and  his  throat,  and  he 
coughed  and  coughed;  but  he  remembered  the  words, 
"Fight  manfully  onward,"  and  he  determined  that  he 
would  not  give  up  so  soon.  He  stopped  coughing  and 
pulled  again  at  the  pipe;  this  time  he  did  not  swallow 
the  smoke,  but  blew  it  out  of  his  mouth  as  he  had  seen  it 
done  a  thousand  times.     He  gave  another  pull,  and 


46  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

blew  the  smoke  out  again;  It  did  indeed  taste  like 
brown  sugar;  it  was  extremely  pleasant;  he  puffed 
again  and  again.  He  was  astonished  that  he  could 
have  produced  so  much  smoke  in  a  few  whiffs;  there 
was  quite  a  cloud  over  his  head.  He  gave  another 
puff,  and  when  he  blew  out  the  smoke  the  white  cloud 
above  him  was  so  thick  that  he  could  not  see  through  ^ 
it.  It  began  to  settle  down  on  him.  He  put  the  China- 
man's head  on  the  floor,  and  looked  up  into  this  cloud. 

It  was  growing  thicker  and  thicker,  and  it  was  be- 
ginning to  churn  about  as  if  in  a  whirlwind;  it  turned 
all  sorts  of  colours,  mostly  yellow  and  green,  and  parts 
of  it  looked  like  barber's  poles  revolving  at  a  terrific 
speed.  He  became  dizzy  as  he  gazed  at  it;  his  head 
began  to  swim;  the  cloud  was  coming  down  closer  and 
closer  upon  him,  and  whirling  about  more  and  more 
wildly;  he  crouched  down  lower,  and  became  dizzier 
and  dizzier.  The  counter  and  the  shelves  began  to  go 
round  and  round,  so  that  he  had  to  put  his  hand  on  the 
floor  to  steady  himself;  in  another  moment  the  shop 
disappeared  altogether,  and  there  was  nothing  under 
him  but  a  little  square  of  floor,  and  nothing  over  him 
but  the  wild,  churning  cloud,  now  sparkling  with  jets  of 
fire.  He  felt  himself  falling,  falling,  and  as  he  came 
to  the  bottom  with  a  crash,  he  heard  the  shop  door 
open  and  close,  and  found  himself  sitting  on  the  floor 
with  his  back  to  the  counter  as  before,  with  no  smoke 
anywhere  to  be  seen;  and  he  was  aware  that  a  hoarse 
voice  was  speaking  on  the  other  side  of  the  counter, 
and  it  was  saying  these  words,  very  loud  and  brisk: 

"Avast,  there!  Belay  that  piping!  All  snug,  sir, 
hatches  battened  down,  makin'  way  under  skysails  and 
royals,  hands  piped  to  quarters,  and  here's  your  humble 
servant  ready  for  orders!  Shiver  my  timbers,  where's 
the  skipper?  Piped  me  up  with  a  'baccy  pipe,  he  did, 
and   where's   he    gone?      Skipper   ahoy!      Come    for 


THE  CHINAMAN'^S  HEAD  47 

orders,  I  be,  and  ever  yours  to  command,  Lemuel 
MIzzen!     That's  me!"    . 

Freddie  put  the  pipe  down  on  the  floor,  rose  to  his 
feet,  and  looked  over  the  counter. 

Leaning  on  his  elbow  on  the  other  side  of  the  counter 
was  a  Sailorman,  with  a  wide  blue  collar  open  at  the 
throat,  a  flat  blue  cap  with  a  black  ribbon  on  the  back 
of  his  head,  and  a  green  patch  over  his  right  eye. 


CHAPTER  VI 

LEMUEL  MIZZEN,  A.B. 

REDDIE  looked  at  the  Sailorman,  and  the  Sailor- 
man  straightened  up  and  touched  his  cap.  His 
face  was  brown  as  weathered  oak,  and  creased 
like  bark;  his  one  eye  was  black  and  glittering;  the 
hand  which  he  raised  to  his  cap  was  of  the  shape  and 
nearly  the  size  of  a  ham;  and  the  chest  and  throat 
which  emerged  from  his  wide-open  shirt-collar  was  as 
brown  as  his  face,  and  big  with  muscles.  There  was 
a  delicious  odour  of  tar  about  him;  you  positively  could 
not  look  at  him  without  hearing  wind  whistling  through 
ropes.  He  hitched  up  his  trousers  with  his  other  hand 
and  said: 

"Ay,  ay,  skipper!    Here  I  be  as  big  as  life,  all  ready 
fer  orders!'* 

As  Freddie  gazed  at  him,  the  Little  Boy  slowly  col- 
lected his  wits,  and  a  light  began  to  dawn  upon  him. 

"Have  you  been  to  China?"  said  he. 

"Right-o !"  cried  the  Sailorman.     "To  China  I  have 

been "  In  a  queer  sing-song,  as  If  he  might  have 

been  marching  In  time  to  it  round  a  capstan,  hauling 
in  an  anchor:  "To  China  I  have  been,  and  a  many 
ports  I've  seen,  near  and  far;  I  can  sail  before  the 
mast  or  behind  It  just  as  fast,  I'm  a  tar,  I'm  a  tar, 
I'm  a  tar!" 

Freddie  continued  to  stare  at  him  with  Increasing 
astonishment. 

"Are  you  a  sailor,  sir?"  said  'he. 

48 


LEMUEL  MIZZEN,  A.B.  49 

"Wot,  me?  I'm  Lemuel  Mizzen,  A.B.,  that's  me, 
and  I  sail  the  deep  blue  sea  from  Maine  tO'  Afrikee, 
and  round  again  on  an  even  keel  to  Cochin  China  for 
cochineal,  and  back  to  Chili  for  Chili  sauce,  and  home 
again  to  Banbury  Cross — that's  me !  Lemuel  Mizzen, 
able  seaman !  Fed  on  hard  tack  or  soft  tack,  or  a  star- 
board tack  or  a  port  tack,  it's  all  the  same  to  me  !  Now 
then,  skipper,  you  piped  me  up,  wot's  the  orders?" 

"Please,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  "would  you  mind  telling 
me  what  it  is  you  would  like  to  have?" 

"M^f     Douse  my  binnacle  light,  wot  I  want  is  a 
chew  o'  terbacker;  but  the  question  before  the  chart- 
house  is,  wot  do  you  want,  skipper?" 
"I  don't  want  anything,"  said  Freddie. 
"Wot?     You  piped  me  up,  didn't  you?     Piped  me 
up  with  a  pipe?" 

"No,  sir,"  said  Freddie. 

"Sorry  to  entertain  a  different  opinion  from  the 
skipper !  Didn't  you  smoke  the  Chinaman's  'baccy, 
in  a  pipe?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  hanging  his  head. 
"Then  you  did  pipe  me  up  with  a  pipe,  and  I  hope 
I  knows  better  than  to  come  aft  without  bein'  piped. 
Didn't  you  know  Pve  got  to  come  when  you  smoke  the 
pipe  with  the  Chinaman's  'baccy  in  it?" 
"No,  sir,"  said  Freddie. 

The  Able  Seaman  fixed  his  black  eye  on  Freddie  In 
amazement. 

"Well,  bust  my  locker  if  this  ain't  the — Beggin'  your 
pardon,  skipper,  and  no  offense  meant!  Called  me  off 
from  the  China  Sea,  and  don't  want  me  after  all! 
Didn't  go  fer  to  do  it,  not  him !  And  me  off  in  the 
China  Sea  amongst  the  Boxers,  a-v'yaging  hither  and 
thither  to  pick  up  a  cargo  o'  boxes  to  box  compasses 
with!  Ye've  brought  me  a  fair  long  journey  fer 
nothin',  skipper!" 

"Pm  very  sorry,  sir/'  said  Freddie,  "I  didn't  know 


50 


THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 


'I'm  Lemuel  Mizzen,  A.B.,  that's  me!" 


LEMUEL  MIZZEN,  A.B.  51 

you  had  to  come  when  the  Chinaman's  tobacco  was 
smoked.  Are  you  the  one  that  brought  that  tobacco 
here?" 

"Ay,  ay!  That's  me!  Lemuel  Mizzen,  A.B.I 
And  a  fine  long  trip  from  the  China  Sea,  to  come  to  a 
lad  in  Amerikee  when  I  hears  in  my  ears  the  skipper's 
call,  and  all  fer  nothin'  at  all,  at  all !  Ain't  you  got 
nothin'  to  offer  in  extenuation?" 

Freddie  did  not  know  what  "extenuation"  meant, 
but  he  could  see  by  the  Sailorman's  face  that  that  gen- 
tleman was  a  good  deal  put  out.  He  remembered  that 
Mr.  Mizzen  wanted  a  chew  of  tobacco. 

"Would  a  little  tobacco  make  you  feel  better?" 
said  he. 

"Now  you've  got  yer  hand  on  the  right  rope!"  said 
the  Able  Seaman,  his  face  brightening.  "I  don't  smoke. 
I  chew.  If  you're  goin'  to  offer  a  bit  of  a  chew,  why 
then,  says  I,  I  don't  care  if  I  do." 

Freddie  took  a  long  plug  of  chewing  tobacco  from 
the  shelf  behind  him.  He  knew  that  Mr.  Toby  would 
not  mind  making  a  little  gift  to  the  sailorman  after 
his  long  journey.  He  put  the  plug  under  the  cutter 
on  the  counter,  and  was  about  to  press  down  the 
handle,  to  cut  off  a  portion,  when  the  Able  Seaman 
hitched  up  his  trousers  and  said: 

"Belay  there,  skipper !  Put  the  whole  cargo  aboard  I 
This  here  craft  needs  ballast;  hoist  her  over  the  side!" 
And  he  reached  out  his  hand  for  the  whole  plug  of 
tobacco  and  took  it  from  Freddie,  and  gnawed  off  a 
corner  with  his  teeth. 

"Ah!"  said  he,  his  right  cheek  bulging  out.  "Too 
much  ballast  to  starboard."  And  he  gnawed  off  an- 
other corner,  so  that  his  left  cheek  bulged  out  like  his 
right. 

"All  snug!"  said  he.  "I'll  just  pay  fer  my  cargo 
before  I  set  sail,  with  a  bit  of  a  draft  on  the  owners, 
in  a  manner  of  speakin'.     Here  y'are,  sir.     Stow  that 


52  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

bit  o'  paper  in  yer  sea-chest,  and  it'll  come  in  handy 
one  o'  these  days.     Pay  as  you  go,  says  I." 

He  placed  in  Freddie's  hand  a  folded  sheet  of  soiled 
paper.  It  was  greasy  with  handling,  and  was  evidently 
very  old;  it  was  folded  small  and  tight,  and  was  be- 
ginning to  break  with  age  at  the  creases.  On  the  out- 
side, it  was  blank;  but  there  might  have  been  writing 
inside. 

"Got  it  in  the  Caribbean  off  a  runaway  sailor,  fer  a 
set  of  false  whiskers  and  a  tattoo  needle.  Will  it  do 
to  pay  fer  the  cargo  with?" 

"Yes,  sir;  thank  you,"  said  Freddie,  holding  the 
paper  in  his  hand  without  unfolding  it. 

"Then  all  I  got  to  say  is,  before  I  weighs  anchor, — 
take  good  keer  o'  that  there  bit  o'  paper.  Aloft  and 
alow,  don't  ye  never  let  go;  round  the  yard  take  a  bight 
and  hold  on  to  it  tight;  let  the  harricane  blow  till  yer 
fingers  is  blue,  but  wotever  you  do,  don't  ye  never  let 
go.  And  skipper,  mmd  wot  I'm  a-tellin'  you;  if  you 
ever  needs  Lemuel  Mizzen,  A.B.,  fer  to  give  him  his 
orders,  all  you  got  to  do  is  to  smoke  a  couple  o'  whiffs 
of  the  Chinaman's  'baccy,  and  Lemuel  Mizzen,  A.B., 
he'll  be  on  deck  before  the  smoke's  cleared  away. 
That's  clear?"  .... 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  with  eyes  wide  open, 

"And  now  as  I  see  there's  no  orders  to  give,  I'm  off 
to  my  tight  little  bark  called  The  Sieve,  and  when  I'm 
aboard  I'll  close  all  the  shutters,  and  lock  up  the  parrot 
that  sneezes  and  stutters,  and  wake  all  the  skippers, 
and  put  on  my  slippers,  and  get  into  bed  while  the 
mates  overhead  are  swabbing  the  decks  and  heaving 
the  lead  and  baling  the  bilge-water  up  with  their  dip- 
pers ;  and  when  they  have  gotten  the  vessel  to  going, 
and  settled  all  down  to  their  knitting  and  sewing,  and 
the  twenty-third  mate,  who  is  always  so  late,  has 
learned  what  is  meant  by  a  third  and  last  warning,  I'll 
turn  up  the  gas,  take  a  look  at  tha  glass,  and  read  me 


LEMUEL  MIZZEN,  A.B.  53 

the  Life  of  Old  Chew  until  morning! And  so,  sir," 

continued  Mr.  Mizzen,  walking  towards  the  street 
door,  "I  must  give  you  a  view  of  my  little  stern-light, 
and  bid  you,  dear  sir,  a  very  good  night." 

So  saying,  he  turned  squarely  towards  Freddie,  with 
one  hand  on  the  door-knob,  and  with  the  other  hand 
touched  his  cap  respectfully.  Freddie  saw  that  his 
trousers  were  very  wide  at  the  ankles  and  very  tight 
at  the  hips,  and  that  he  rolled  a  little  when  he  walked. 
Having  touched  his  cap  respectfully,  he  opened  the 
door  and  went  out,  and  disappeared  in  the  darkness 
outside. 

Freddie  stood  looking,  after  him  with  his  mouth 
wide  open. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  HANDS  OF  THE  CLOCK  COME  TOGETHER 

IT  was  some  minutes  before  Freddie  recovered  from 
his  astonishment.  Certainly  this  was  a  strange 
Sailorman.  And  he  had  come  all  the  way  from  the 
China  Sea  at  a  puff  of  the  Chinaman's  tobacco !  Cer- 
tainly magic  tobacco,  that!  But  it  was  a  pity  that  Mr. 
Mizzen  had  been  called  away  from  the  China  Sea,  all 
for  nothing,  while  he  was  so  busy  gathering  boxes  to 
box  compasses  with!  No  wonder  he  had  felt  put  out 
about  it.  And  it  must  have  been  a  queer  sort  of  ship, 
with  its  shutters,  and  all  those  skippers  and  mates — 
did  they  really  like  to  knit  and  sew  after  they  had  got 
the  ship  to  going?  It  would  be  a  wonderful  thing  to 
sail  in  a  ship  like  that;  he  wished  he  had  thought  to 
ask  Mr.  Mizzen  more  about  it.  He  must  tell  Aunt 
Amanda  at  once. 

He  ran  to  the  back  door  and  burst  Into  the  back 
room,  crying  out  "Aunt  Amanda !" 

Aunt  Amanda  was  sound  asleep  in  her  chair,  with  her 
head  back  and  her  mouth  open;  the  gas  was  burning 
brightly  overhead,  and  the  clock  was  ticking  away  dis- 
tinctly on  the  mantel-piece. 

"Aunt  Amanda  !"  cried  Freddie. 

She  awoke  with  a  jump,  blinked  her  eyes,  and  said: 

"Hah!  Where's  the — what's  the — who  said — 
Where's  Toby?    What's  the  matter?" 

"It's  me,  Aunt  Amanda,"  cried  Freddie,  breath- 
lessly, "and  the  Sailorman's  just  been  here  and  gone, 
and  I  called  him  with  the  pipe,  and  I  can  call  him  when- 

54 


THE  HANDS  OF  THE  CLOCK  55 

ever  I  want  him,  and  he  gave  me  a  piece  of  paper,  and 
he  talks  like  a  singing-book,  and  there's  a  parrot  that 
stutters,  and  they  have  to  bale  out  the  water  with  dip- 
pers because  the  ship's  named  The  Sieve,  and  we 
mustn't  lose  the  paper  because  the  runaway  sailor  wore 
false  whiskers,  and  he  feeds  on  tacks  instead  of  pins, 
and  we  have  to  hold  on  tight  to  the  paper,  and  one  of 
the  men  on  the  ship  is  always  late,  and  we  mustn't  lose 

the  paper,  because " 

"Stop  !  Stop  !"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "What  on  earth 
is  the  child  talking  about?  What's  all  this  about  a 
Sailorman  and  a  paper?" 

"He's  the  one  that  brought  the  Chinaman's  tobacco 
from  China,  and  he  gave  me  a  piece  of  paper,  and 

here  it  is,  and  we  mustn't  lose  it,  because " 

"One  minute,  Freddie !  Now  you  just  stand  right 
there,  perfectly  still,  and  tell  me  about  it  slowly.  Now, 
then;  what  about  this  Sailorman?     Slow,  slow." 

It  was  a  long  time  before  Freddie  made  her  under- 
stand exactly  what  had  happened,  but  at  last  she  did 
understand,  from  beginning  to  end.  She  was  grieved 
and  horrified  that  he  had  smoked  the  tobacco,  but 
there  was  no  help  for  it  now,  and  she  was  too  much 
excited  by  his  tale  to  scold  him  very  long. 

"What's  the  paper  he  give  you?"  said  she,  when  he 
had  told  her  everything. 

Freddie  put  the  paper  in  her  hand,  and  she  unfolded 
it  carefully. 

"Why,"  said  she,  "it's  a  map!" 
"What  kind  of  a  map?"  said  Freddie. 
"It's  a  map  of  an  Island,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 
"Where's  Toby?  I  wish  he  would  come  home.  It 
looks  like  an  Island,  and  there's  writing  here  on  it. 
Looks  like  some  sailorman  might  have  drawn  it, 
maybe;  it's  certainly  pretty  old.  I  wish  Toby  would 
come." 


S6  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"What's  the  writing  on  it,  Aunt  Amanda?"  said 
Freddie. 

"Well,  here  at  the  top  it  says,  'Correction  Island,' 
and  under  that  it  says,  'Spanish  Main.'  Bless  me; 
that's  where  the  pirates  used  to " 

"Pirates?"  said  Freddie,  his  eyes  sparkling. 

"Yes,  pirates,  of  course.  You've  heard  of  the 
Spanish  Main,  haven't  you?" 

"Yes'm.  It's  a  long  way  off.  You  have  to  go  there 
In  a  ship.     Plave  you  ever  been  there?" 

"Me?  Me  been  to  the  Spanish  Main?  Mercy 
sakes,  no,  child !  What  would  I  be  doing  on  the  Span- 
ish Main?  I  ain't  been  outside  of  this  town  since  I 
was  born." 

"Wouldn't  I  like  to  go  there!  Pirates!"  said 
Freddie.     "Ohjiminy!" 

"You  mustn't  use  such  dreadful  language,"  said 
Aunt  Amanda.  "I  wonder  where  Toby  is?  Just  look 
at  that  clock !  Why,  bless  me,  it's  twenty-seven  min- 
utes to  seven." 

Freddie  looked,  and  saw  that  the  hands  of  the  clock 
were  together,  one  on  top  of  the  other.  It  was  the 
hour  for  Mr.  Punch's  father  to  call  Mr.  Punch  from 
the  church-tower. 

"Toby's  got  to  talkin'  with  that  barber  again,  as 
sure  as  you  live;  when  they  once  begin,  they  never 
know  when  to  leave  off.     I  wish  he'd " 

As  she  said  this,  the  door  opened,  and  in  walked 
Mr.  Toby  himself. 

"Sorry  I'm  so  late,"  he  cried,  "but  the  barber  got 
to  talking  about — What,  young  feller,  are  you  still 
here?"  He  turned  and  called  through  the  open  door  to 
someone  behind  him  in  the  shop.  "Come  in!  Make 
you  acquainted  with  my  aunt  and  a  young  chap  here — 
Don't  be  bashful,  come  right  in!  Nobody's  goin'  to 
eat  you !" 

Mr.  Toby  held  the  door  wide  open,  and  made  way 


THE  HANDS  OF  THE  CLOCK  57 

for  a  little  gentleman  who  now  advanced  Into  the  room. 
He  was  a  hunchbacked  man,  of  the  same  height  as 
Toby,  and  he  was  holding  out  in  one  hand  a  bunch  of 
black  cigars;  he  was  bareheaded  and  baldheaded;  he 
had  high  cheek-bones  and  a  big  chin  and  a  hooked 
nose;  he  wore  blue  knee  breeches  and  black  stockings 
and  buckled  shoes,  and  his  coat  was  cut  away  In  front 
over  his  stomach  and  had  two  tails  behind,  down  to 
his  knees.  His  joints  creaked  a  little  as  he  walked. 
He  made  a  stiff  bow  to  Aunt  Amanda,  and  another 
one  to  Freddie. 

"Come  In,  Mr.  Punch,"  said  Toby,  "you  don't  need 
to  hold  them  cigars  any  longer.  Give  'em  to  me." 
And  he  took  them  from  Mr.  Punch  and  laid  them  on 
the  table.  He  then  went  to  Mr.  Punch  and  linked  his 
arm  in  his,  and  the  two  hunchbacks  stepped  forward 
together  and  stood  before  Aunt  Amanda. 

"Allow  me  to  present  my  friend  Mr.  Punch,"  said 
Toby.  "Just  as  I  was  coming  In,  I  heard  a  voice  sing 
out  'Punch!'  from  the  church-tower,  and  Mr.  Punch 
stepped  down  from  his  perch,  and  I  Invited  him  tO' 
come  In,  and  here  we  are." 

"Good  hevening,  marm,"  said  Mr.  Punch.  His 
voice  sounded  harsh,  as  If  his  throat  were  rusty.  "Good 
hevening,  young  sir.  Hit's  wery  pleasant  withln-doors, 
wery  pleasant  indeed;  HI  carn't  s'y  It's  so  blooming 
"agreeable  hout  there  on  my  box,  hall  d'y  and  hall 
night;  the  gaslight  Is  wery  welcome  to  me  poor  heyes, 
1  assure  you,  marm.     Hi  trust  I  see  you  well,  marm." 

"Mercy  on  us !"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  who  had  been 
speechless  with  astonishment.  "Freddie,  It's  Mr. 
Punch  himself,  bless  me  If  It  ain't!" 

Freddie  edged  a  little  closer  to  Aunt  Amanda,  for 
he  was  afraid  Mr.  Punch  might  snatch  him  up  and 
carry  him  off  to  his  father  In  the  tower.  Mr.  Punch 
noticed  this. 

"  'Ave  no  fear,  me  good  sir,"  said  Mr.  Punch,  his 


58  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

wide  mouth  expanding  in  a  smile,  almost  to  his  ears. 
"Hi  sharn't  see  me  father  this  night,  hif  me  kind  friends 
will  permit  me  to  enjoy  their  society  for  a  brief  period, 
together  with  their  charmin'  gaslight,  which  it  is  wery 
dim  hall  night  in  the  street  and  quite  hunsatisfactory, 
accordingly  most  pleased  to  haccept  me  friend  Toby's 
kind  'ospitality,  Hi  assure  you.  One  grows  quite 
cramped  in  one's  legs  and  one's  harms  when  one  'as 
to  remain  in  one  position  on  one's  box  hall  night,  unless 
one's  father  should  tyke  hit  into  'is  'ead"  to  call  one 
hup  for  a  bit  of  a  lark,  and  one  can  never  be  sure  of 
one's  father's  'aving  it  in  'is  'ead  to  call  one  hup,  to  s'y 
nothing  of  one's  fingers  coming  stiffer  and  stiffer  with 
one's  parcel  of  cigars  'eld  out  in  one's  'and,  and  no  'at 
on  one's  'ead,  and  no  'air  on  one's  'ead  to  defend  one 
against  the  hevening  hair,  with  one's  nose  dropping 
hicicles  in  winter,  so  that  one  never  knows  when  one 
will  lose  one's  nose  off  of  one's  fyce " 

"Excuse  me,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  It  was  evident 
that  Mr.  Punch  was  a  talkative  person.  "Are  you  an 
Englishman?" 

"Ho  lor'  miss,  indeed  !"  said  Mr.  Punch.  "A  Heng- 
lishman  as  ever  was,  Hi  assure  you.  But  I  'opes  I  give 
myself  no  hairs." 

Freddie  gave  up  trying  to  understand  the  difference 
between  air  and  hair;  it  was  plain  enough  that  the 
baldheaded  man  had  never  given  himself  any  hair,  so 
r'-  couldn't  be  that.  Anyway,  this  was  an  Englishman, 
c-nd  Freddie  was  glad  that  he  would  now  probably 
have  a  chance  to  hear  English  spoken,  which  he  had 
never  heard  before. 

"Toby,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "Freddie  has  seen  the 
Sailorman  from  China,  and  he  has  a  map.  I'll  tell 
you  about  it." 

Thereupon  she  related  the  story  of  Mr,  Lemuel 
Mizzen,  as  she  had  got  it  from  Freddie.  Mr.  Toby 
and  Mr.  Punch  were  both  tremendously  impressed. 


THE  HANDS  OF  THE  CLOCK  59 

''It's  too  bad,"  said  Mr.  Toby,  "this  young  feller 
here  had  to  go  and  smoke  the  Chinaman's  tobacco 
after  I  told  him  not  to;  it's  too  bad,  that's  what  it  Is, 
What  did  you  mean  by  It,  sir?" 

"Hit's  a  wery  naughty  hactlon  Indeed,"  said  Mr. 
Punch.  "Wery  reprehensible.  Wery.  Hi  carn't  s'y 
as  I  ever  'eard  of  a  thing  so  hextremely  reprehensible. 
Now  when  Hi  was  a  lad " 

"You  don't  say  so  !"  said  Mr.  Toby.  "Well,  I  don't 
see  anything  so  very  bad  about  it.  I'd  a'  done  It  myself 
if  I'd  been  In  'his  place.  What  do  you  mean  by  saying 
that  my  Freddie's  reprehensible?  I  won't  have  nobody 
callln'  him  names,  I  won't,  and  what's  more " 

"No  offense,  Toby!  No  offense!"  cried  Mr.  Punch, 
"Sorry,  Hi  assure  you.  Wery  reprehensible  of  me  to 
s'y  such  a  thing.    Wery.     Pray  be  calm;  be  calm." 

"Well,  then,"  grumbled  Toby,  "don't  you  go  and 
say  nothing  about  Freddie,  because — Anyway,  let's 
have  a  look  at  the  map." 

At  that  moment  there  came  a  timid  knock  upon  the 
door. 

"Who  next?"  said  Toby.     "Come  in!" 


CHAPTER  VIII 

CELLULOID  CUFFS  AND  A  SILK  HAT 

THE  door  opened,  and  there  entered  a  poor- 
looking  elderly  man,  bowing  and  scraping  as 
he  came,  and  saluting  the  company  with  an  old 
rusty  dented  tall  hat  which  he  carried  in  his  hand.  The 
most  striking  thing  about  him  was  that  he  had  a 
wooden  leg.  His  hair  was  grey  and  thin,  and  his  face 
was  not  very  clean;  there  were  signs  of  tobacco  at  the 
corners  of  his  mouth.  His  clothes  were  frayed  and 
patched,  and  there  was  a  good  deal  of  grease  on  his 
vest;  he  wore  a  celluloid  collar  without  any  necktie, 
and  round  celluloid  cuffs;  his  coat-sleeves  were  much 
too  short,  and  his  cuffs  hung  out  certainly  three  inches. 
Strange  to  say,  his  collar  and  cuffs  were  spotlessly 
clean,  and  presented  quite  a  contrast  to  his  very  untidy 
face  and  clothes;  but  then,  celluloid  is  easy  to  clean; 
much  less  trouble  than  washing  the  face.  As  he 
stumped  into  the  room,  he  kept  bowing  humbly  from 
one  to  another,  and  bobbing  his  old  hat  up  and  down 
In  his  hand. 

"Ahem!"  he  said,  making  another  bow.  "I  was 
just  going  by,  and  I  thought  I  would  drop  in  to — er — 
ahem! — I  hope  I  am  not  in  the  way?" 

"Oh,  come  in,"  said  Toby,  not  very  graciously.  "As 
long  as  you  are  here,  you  might  as  well  stay.  This 
is  Mr.  Punch,  and  this  is  Freddie." 

The  elderly  man  bowed  to  Freddie,  and  v/ent  up 
to  Mr.  Punch  and  shook  him  cordially  by  the  hand. 

60 


CELLULOID  CUFFS  AND  A  SILK  HAT    6i 

He  put  his  mouth  quite  close  to  Mr.  Punch's  ear,  and 
lowered  his  voice,  and  said: 

"Ahem!  I'm  delighted  to  know  you,  sir.  I  trust 
you  are  well.  I  have  seen  you  often,  but  not  to  speak 
to.  Ahem!"  Lie  lowered  his  voice  again,  and  spoke 
very  confidentially  into  Mr.  Punch's  ear.  "The  fact 
is,  sir,  that  as  I  was  going  by,  I  suddenly  found  that  I 
had  left  my  tobacco  pouch  at  home;  most  unfortunate; 
and  I  came  in  with  the  hope  that  perhaps — er — ahem ! 
Very  seldom  forget  my  tobacco;  very  seldom  indeed; 
perfectly  lost  without  it;  do  you — er,  ahem! — do  you 
happen  to  have  such  a  thing  about  you  as  a — er — 
ahem! — a  small  portion  of — er — smoking  tobacco?  I 
should  be  very  much  obliged!" 

"Sorry,"  said  Mr.  Punch,  stiffly,  backing  away.  "Hi 
never  use  tobacco  in  any  way,  shape  or  form." 

The  elderly  man  looked  much  disappointed,  and 
sighed.  He  turned  to  Toby,  and  bowed  and  smiled 
hopefully. 

"Perhaps  Mr.  Littleback — "  he  began. 

"Not  on  your  ^Ife,"  said  Toby.  "You  don't  get  no 
tobacco  out  of  me,  and  that's  flat." 

The  elderly  man  sighed  again,  and  looked  steadily 
at  Freddie;  but  he  evidently  thought  there  was  no  hope 
in  that  quarter,  and  he  said  nothing. 

Freddie  now  realized  who  the  elderly  gentleman  was. 
He  had  a  wooden  leg,  and  he  never  bought  tobacco 
when  tobacco  he  could  beg — It  was  the  Old  Codger 
whom  Mr.  Toby  had  now  and  then  sung  a  song  about; 
one  of  his  two  friends,  the  one  who  was  always  beg- 
ging tobacco,  and  never  had  any  of  his  own.  Freddie 
looked  at  him,  and  felt  rather  sorry  for  him. 

"Ahem!"  said  the  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden 
Leg.  "Very  sorry  to  intrude.  Miss  Amanda.  I  hope 
I'm  not  In  the  way.  It's  very  mild  weather  we're 
having." 


62  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"Now,  then,"  said  Toby,  briskly,  "let's  look  at  this 
map." 

As  he  said  this,  another  knock  was  heard  at  the  door; 
a  firm  and  confident  knock  this  time. 

"Confound  it!"  said  Toby.  "Who  next?  Come 
in!" 

The  door  opened,  and  another  elderly  man  stepped 
in;  a  tall  slim  man,  with  very  white  hair  and  a  long 
narrow  face;  he  carried  a  tall  shiny  black  silk  hat  in 
his  hand;  he  wore  a  black  suit,  all  of  broadcloth,  and 
his  coat  hung  to  his  knees  and  was  buttoned  to  the 
top;  his  cuffs  and  collar  and  shirt  were  of  beautiful 
white  linen  with  a  gloss,  and  his  tie  was  a  little  white 
Imen  bow.  He  came  forward  with  an  air  of  warm 
benevolence. 

"My  dear,  dear  friends !"  he  said,  and  stretched  out 
both  hands  towards  the  company,  as  if  to  clasp  them 
all  to  his  heart.  "What  a  beautiful,  beautiful  scene ! 
So  homelike,  so  cosy,  so  sociable,  so — so — What  can 
be  so  beautiful  as  the  gathering  together  of  friends 
about  the  family  hearth!  So  beautiful!"  There  was 
a  Latrobe  stove  in  the  room,  but  no  hearth;  how- 
ever, that  made  no  difference;  he  went,  with  his  hands 
outstretched,  to  Aunt  Amanda,  and  pressed  one  of  hers 
in  both  of  his. 

The  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden  Leg  Immediately 
sidled  up  to  him,  and  while  he  was  still  pressing  i\unt 
Amanda's  hand,  said,  in  a  confidential  tone: 

"Ahem!  Tm  delighted  to  see  you  again.  I  trust 
you  are  well.  The  fact  Is,  I  find  that  I  have — er — left 
my  tobacco  pouch  at  home, — most  unfortunate;  very 
seldom  forget  it;  completely  lost  without  it;  I  was 
wondering — er — ahem  ! — if  you  happened  to  have  such 
a  thing  about  you  as  a — " 

"No!"  said  the  other  old  man,  changing  at  once 
from  beaming  benevolence  to  stern  severity.      "I'll  be 


CELLULOID  CUFFS  AND  A  SILK  HAT    63 

hanged  if  I  do!"  And  he  released  Aunt  Amanda's 
hand,  and  turned  his  back  on  the  Old  Codger  with 
the  Wooden  Leg. 

"Now,"  said  Toby,  "let's  look  at  the  map.  This 
here  is  Mr.  Punch,  and  this  is  Freddie." 

The  newcomer  took  Mr.  Punch's  hand  in  both  of  his 
and  squeezed  it  softly;  he  then  took  Freddie's  hand  in 
both  of  his  and  pressed  it  tenderly.  Freddie  knew 
him.  He  was  the  "other  Old  Codger,  as  sly  as  a 
fox,  who  always  had  tobacco  in  his  old  tobacco-box." 
Freddie  could  hardly  believe  that  that  white-haired 
old  gentleman  could  be  as  sly  as  a  fox. 

"My  dear,  dear  friends!"  said  the  Sly  Old  Fox. 
"What  is  so  beautiful  as  the  love  of  friends?"  He 
stopped  to  glare  at  the  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden 
Leg,  who  looked  away  nervously.  "The  love  of 
friends  !  Gathered  together  around  the  family  hearth ! 
How  beautiful !  It  touches  me,  my  friends,  it  touches 
me " 

"That's  all  right  about  that,"  said  Toby.  "For 
heaven's  sake,  let's  look  at  the  map !" 

Aunt  Amanda  spread  out  the  map  on  the  table  be- 
side her,  and  the  others  gathered  round. 

"It's  an  island!"  cried  Toby. 

"On  the  Spanish  Main,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"The  Spanish  Main!"  said  the  Sly  Old  Fox.  "A 
beautiful  country!  Full  of  palms, — and  grape-nuts, 
— What  you  might  call  a  real  work  of  nature !  Full 
of  parrots,  and  monkeys,  and  lagoons,  and  other  wild 
creatures;  a  work  of  nature,  my  dear  friends,  a  real 
work  of  nature." 

"And  pirates,"  said  Freddie,  earnestly. 

"I  said  parrots,"  said  the  Sly  Old  Fox. 

"/  said  pirates,"  said  Freddie. 

"Just  what  I  said,"  said  the  Sly  Old  Fox.     "That 


64  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

live  In  trees,  my  little  friend,  In  trees;  and  have  red 
and  blue  feathers,  and " 

"Pirates  don't  have  feathers,"  said  Freddie. 

"Dear,  dear!"  said  the  Sly  Old  Fox.  "How  can 
you  say  such  a  thing?    How  can  you ?" 

"Did  you  ever  see  a  pirate  In  a  tree?" 

"In  cages,  my  dear  little  friend!  Hundreds  of 
them!" 

"That's  enough!"  said  Mr.  Toby.  "Quit  wrangling 
for  a  minute,  will  you?  What  about  this  here  map?  I 
tell  you  what,  though.  Pd  like  the  Churchwarden  to 
see  this  map.  Freddie,  will  you  run  down  the  street 
and  get  the  Churchwarden?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  moving  towards  the  door. 

"And  tell  him  to  bring  along  his  Odour  of  Sanctity 
with  him.  He  always  carries  a  bottle  of  it  In  his 
pocket,  and  we  may  need  It.    Don't  forget  it." 

"No,  sir,"  said  Freddie. 

"Hold  on  a  minute,"  said  Mr.  Toby,  snatching  up 
his  hat.  "Pll  go  for  him  myself.  I  can  do  It  quicker." 
And  in  a  moment  he  was  out  of  the  door. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  ODOUR  OF  SANCTITY 


WHILE  Toby  was  gone,  Aunt  Amanda  explained 
to  the  two  old  men  about  the  Sailorman  from 
China,  and  about  his  gift  of  the  map  which 
was  lying  on  the  table.  They  were  just  at  the  end  of 
their  discussion  when  Toby  returned,  bringing  with 
him  the  Churchwarden,  puffing  and  blowing  with  the 
unusual  exertion  of  walking,  and  without  his  pipe. 
Toby  introduced  him  to  Mr.  Punch  and  the  two  old 
Codgers,  and  drew  him  up  to  the  table  and  showed  him 
the  map,  explaining  at  the  same  time  how  it  came 
there. 

The  Churchwarden  examined  the  map  carefully, 
while  the  others  all  looked  at  'him.  He  finally  put 
down  the  map,  settled  himself  in  a  chair,  folded  his 
hands  across  his  fat  stomach,  blew  out  his  cheeks,  and 
said: 

"My  opinion  is,  that  what  we  ought  to  do  is  to — 
I've  considered  the  matter  carefully,  from  all  sides,  and 
I  think  we  ought  to — Of  course  you  may  not  agree 
with  me,  but  I  think  the  best  thing  to  do  would  be 
to — Unless,  of  course,  some  of  you  may  think  of 
something  better,  but  if  you  don't,  then  I  can't  say  as 
there's  anything  better  to  do  than  to " 

At  this  moment  there  came  a  sound  from  the  street 
outside  which  made  everyone  but  Aunt  Amanda  jump 
to  his  feet.  It  was  the  sound  of  running  feet,  mixed 
with  strange  cries,  not  very  loud,  but  somehow  blood- 
curdling.    It  was  evident  that  someone  was  in  trouble. 


66  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Freddie  and  the  five  men  rushed  from  the  room  and 
through  the  shop  and  into  the  street. 

The  street  was  very  dark,  except  for  a  gas-lamp 
at  the  opposite  corner.  A  white  figure  was  running 
down  the  pavement  towards  the  shop-door,  with 
frantic  speed;  and  behind  him,  evidently  chasing  him, 
came  a  crowd  of  little  dark  creatures,  hard  to  make 
out  in  the  dim  light.  It  was  these  creatures  who  were 
making  the  little  blood-curdling  cries.  In  a  moment 
they  had  come  so  near  that  the  party  about  the  shop- 
door  could  see  what  they  were.  In  front,  running 
desperately  with  leaps  and  bounds,  and  panting  for 
breath,  came  a  tall  slim  man  all  in  tight-fitting  white 
clothes,  with  a  dead  white  face  and  a  whitei  hairless 
head;  and  after  him,  tumbling  on  pell-mell,  was  a 
perfect  riot  of  little  red  Imps,  with  little  horns  on  their 
foreheads,  and  little  tails  behind  them,  all  trying  to 
spear  the  white  man  with  the  wicked  little  pitchforks 
which  they  carried,  and  to  seize  him  with  their  claws. 
Freddie  thought  they  were  precisely  like  the  imps  he 
had  seen  at  Hanlon's  Superba.  When  the  white  man 
reached  the  shop-door  they  had  nearly  caught  him. 
He  paused  at  that  moment,  looked  wildly  about  him, 
saw  the  open  door  of  the  shop,  and  dashed  In  and 
banged  the  door  to  behind  him.  The  Imps  came  tumb- 
ling up  and  hesitated  an  Instant  before  the  men  at 
the  door;  and  In  that  Instant  the  Churchwarden  showed 
the  most  unexpected  presence  of  mind.  He  quickly 
reached  behind  him  and  drew  a  small  bottle  out  of  his 
pocket  and  pulled  out  the  cork  and  sprinkled  a  few 
drops  of  Its  contents  on  the  ground  before  him.  A 
sharp  penetrating  odour  immediately  filled  the  air;  it 
was  so  intense  that  it  made  the  tears  come  Into  Fred- 
die's eyes;  but  what  it  did  to  the  wild  mob  of  Imps 
was  almost  beyond  belief.  As  they  got  their  first  whiff 
of  It,  they  tumbled  back  over  one  another  in  a  mad 


THE  ODOUR  OF  SANCTITY  67 

effort  to  get  away;  but  they  could  not  get  away  from 
the  odour  quick  enough;  it  caught  them  and  held  them, 
so  that  in  a  moment  they  could  not  move;  they  stood 
fixed  and  fast  and  silent;  in  another  moment  they  be- 
gan to  melt  away,  and  in  two  minutes  they  had  van- 
ished; actually  vanished  where  they  stood,  each  and 
every  one,  before  the  very  eyes  of  the  astonished  party 
before  the  door. 

"Blimy  hif  I  ever  see  the  like!"  said  Mr.  Punch. 

"Never  knew  my  Odour  of  Sanctity  to  fail  once," 
said  the  Churchwarden,  coolly.  "Hardly  ever  go  out 
without  it.  There  ain't  a  witch  or  an  imp  or  a  bad 
spirit  of  any  kind  whatever  can  stand  up  against  my 
Odour  of  Sanctity,  if  he  once  gets  a  couple  of  good 
whiffs  of  it  out  of  this  little  bottle.  Just  a  few  drops 
from  the  bottle,  and  a  few  sniffs,  and  whoof !  they're 
done  for !  No,  sir !  there  ain't  no  perfumery  in  the 
world  like  Odour  of  Sanctity!" 

On  the  floor  of  the  shop  they  found  the  poor  white 
man  lying  completely  exhausted.  They  asked  him  to 
explain,  but  he  could  not  speak.  Mr.  Toby  and  Mr. 
Punch,  one  on  each  side,  supported  him  into  the  back 
room,  and  sat  him  down  in  a  chair  before  Aunt 
Amanda.  She  held  up  her  hands  in  astonishment.  The 
man  was  certainly  a  strange-looking  man.  They  plied 
him  with  questions,  but  he  touched  his  tongue  with  his 
finger  and  shook  his  head.  He  could  not  speak;  he 
was  dumb.  Freddie,  after  one  long  look  at  him  under 
the  gaslight,  knew  who  he  was. 

"It's  Mr.  Hanlon!"  he  cried,  in  great  excitement. 
"It's  Mr.  Hanlon!" 

The  dumb  man  looked  at  Freddie  and  smiled,  and 
nodded  his  head.  He  rose  to  his  feet,  shook  Freddie's 
hand,  and  made  a  graceful  bow  to  the  whole  company. 

"It's  Mr.  Hanlon  sure  enough,"  said  Toby,  "still 
being  chased  by  the  imps.     Pretty  near  got  him  that 


68  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

time,  too!  But  he  got  away  safe  and  soaind  after  all, 
didn't  he,  eh?"  And  all  the  party,  including  Mr.  Han- 
Ion  himself,  laughed  with  delight.  And  when  the 
Churchwarden  pulled  out  his  little  perfume  bottle  and 
showed  it  around,  and  explained  to  Mr.  Hanlon  what 
it  had  done,  the  poor  man  was  so  overcome  that  he 
put  his  head  down  on  the  Churchwarden's  shoulder 
and  wept. 

*'This'll  never  do!"  cried  Toby.  "Ain't  we  never, 
never,  going  to  get  down  to  this  here  map?  I  never 
see  such  a  time  as  I've  had,  trying  to  examine  this 
here  map!  One  thing  right  after  another!  Mr.  Han- 
lon, I'll  tell  you  what  it's  about,  and  then  you  can  see 
it  for  yourself.  Would  you  like  to  stay  here  with 
our  little  party?  It's  a  good  deal  safer  than  out-of- 
doors." 

Mr.  Hanlon  nodded  eagerly  and  smiled,  and  Toby 
explained  everything  to  him  and  showed  him  the  map. 

"Now,"  said  Toby,  when  that  was  done,  "speak 
up,  Warden,  and  finish  what  you  was  a-saying!" 


CHAPTER  X 

CAPTAIN   HIGGINSON  AND  THE   SPANISH  MAIN 

THE  Churchwarden,  having  put  back  into  his 
pocket  the  bottle  of  Odour  of  Sanctity,  folded 
his  hands  across  his  fat  stomach  and  began 
again : 

"As  I  was  saying— — " 

"Never  mind  that,"  said  Toby.  "Tell  us  what  we 
had  better  do." 

"Well,  as  I  was  saying,"  went  on  the  Churchwarden, 
paying  no  attention  to  Toby,  "the  best  idea  that  occurs 
to  me,  after  thinking  it  over  considerable,  is  that — 
But  I  ain't  saying  there's  none  better,  and  I  don't  lay 
claim  to  being  any  wiser  than — Anyway,  it  seems  to 
me  we  ought  to " 

"Just  listen  to  this!"  broke  in  Aunt  Amanda.  She 
had  been  studying  the  map  all  this  time,  and  she  was 
holding  it  in  her  hands.  She  was  much  excited.  "I've 
just  made  out  all  this  handwriting  at  the  bottom  of 
the  map,  and  I'll  read  it  to  you.  Do  you  want  to  hear 
it?"  Her  voice  shook  and  her  hands  trembled.  Every- 
body except  the  Churchwarden  begged  her  to  go  on. 
"Oh!  do  you  think  it  could  be  true?  If  it  only  could! 
Oh,  if  it  could  only  be  true  !" 

"Maybe  if  you'd  read  it,  Aunt  Amanda "  said 

Toby. 

"Yes,  yes,  I  will,"  said  she,  all  of  a  twitter.  "I'll 
read  it.  Don't  hurry  me.  This  is  what  it  says.  If  it 
could  only  be  true !  'Correction  Island :  By  dead  Reck- 
oning, latitude  12°  32'  14"  N.,  longitude  61°  45'  13" 

69 


70  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

W.,'  whatever  that  means.  But  I'll  read  It  to  you  just 
as  it's  written.  It's  a  queer  kind  of  language — Any- 
way, this  is  what  it  says: 

"  'Lately  discovered  by  me,  Reuben  Higginson, 
Master  Mariner,  Brig  Cotton  Mather :    New  Bedford. 

"'Notify  Elizabeth  Higginson,  Spinster:  or  Else 
the  acknowledged  Elder  of  the  Society  of  Friends : 
New  Bedford. 

"  'Now  off  course  in  heavy  gale  on  return  Voyage 
to  fetch  my  Sister  aforesaid  to  Correction  Island  with 
as  Many  others  as  are  Minded  to  come. 

"'Leaking  badly  below  line:  pumps  Given  over: 
Water  mounting  in  hold:  decks  Awash:  Both  masts 
gone  By  the  board :  whale-oil,  no  use :  Down  with  all 
hands  in  another  Hour. 

"  'This  Map  shall  be  cast  Overboard  in  a  stout  Bot- 
tel  as  we  go  down,  with  a  Paper  of  directions  how  to 
Gain  correction  in  the  Island.'  " 

"Where's  the  paper  of  directions?"  said  Toby. 

"It  ain't  here,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "I  suppose 
Captain  Higginson  lost  it,  or  else  he  didn't  have  time 
to  put  it  in  the  bottle.  Anyway,  this  is  what  the  writing 
on  the  map  says  : 

"  'Let  him  that  Finds  the  Bottel  remember  these 
Mariners:  Also,  let  him  take  heed  to  Search  out  the 
Island  diligently. 

"  'For  this  Island' — Listen  to  w'hat  it  says  now," 
said  Aunt  Amanda,  trembling  with  excitement.  "Oh, 
do  you  suppose  it  could  really  be  true?  And  yet  this 
Reuben  Higginson  was  a  good  Quaker  captain,  I'm 
sure,  and  I  don't  believe  he  would  say  what  wasn't 
true,  and  especially  when  he  was  on  his  way  home  to 
get  his  own  sister " 

"Why  don't  you  read  it,  instead  of  talking  about 
it?"  said  Toby. 


THE  SPANISH  MAIN  71 

"I  would,  if  you'd  let  me,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 
"Here's  what  it  says: 

"  'For  this  Island  is  Refuge  to  such  as  be  afflicted: 
And  in  this  Island  shall  be  Corrected' — oh!  listen  to 
this !  I  wouldn't  believe  it  from  anybody  but  Reuben 
Higginson — 'shall  be  Corrected  whatever  Errors,  Dis- 
appointments, Miscarriages,  Faylures,  Preventions, 
and  the  like,  this  mortal  Life  may  have  afflicted  Any 
withal:  Wherefore  I  have  called  it  Correction  Island. 

"  'There  be  Perils  enough  in  coming  at  Compleat 
Correction :  But  let  Courage  halt  not  By  the  way,  so 
shall  he  Arrive  presently. 

"  'If  any  be  Crooked' — this  Is  the  part!  it's  too  won- 
derful !  but  Captain  Higginson  wouldn't  have  said  It, 
when  he  was  so  near  going  down  with  his  ship,  and 
especially  on  his  way  home  to  get  his  own  sister " 

"Me  dear  lydy,"  said  Mr.  Punch,  "/?//  you  would 
be  so  wery  kind  as  to " 

"Yes,  yes;  give  me  time.  I  declare  you  make  me 
so  nervous — Now  just  listen  to  this,  every  one  of  you, 
and  don't  speak: 

"'If  any  be  Crooked,  he  shall  there  be  made 
Straight'  " 

She  paused,  and  looked  hard  at  Toby.  Mr.  Punch 
started  at  the  same  time,  and  he  and  Toby  looked  hard 
at  each  other. 

"  'If  any  be  Blind,  he  shall  see:  If  any  Dumb,  he 
shall  speak.'  " 

At  the  word  "dumb,"  Mr.  Hanlon,  whose  elbow 
was  resting  on  the  table,  jumped  so  violently  that  he 
knocked  the  Album  onto  the  floor.  Aunt  Amanda 
nodded  her  head  to  him,  and  all  the  others  stared  at 
him. 

"  'If  any  be  Old,  he  shall  be  Young  again:  If  any 
Fat,  he  shall  be  as  Lean  as  he  will.'  " 


72  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

At  the  word  "fat",  the  Churchwarden  gave  a  ques- 
tioning grunt,  and  settled  down  deeper  in  his  chair. 

"  'If  any  be  Poor,  whether  In  Purse  or  In  Mind,  he 
shall  seek  Alms  no  longer.'  " 

The  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden  Leg,  who  had 
been  resting  his  wooden  leg  on  the  chair  opposite, 
dropped  it  to  the  floor  and  sat  up  very  straight.  Toby, 
who  was  standing  beside  him,  clapped  him  heartily  on 
the  shoulder. 

"  'If  any  be  Mean,  or  Cunning,  or  Despiteful,  he 
shall  be  given  a  new  heart.'  " 

Aunt  Amanda  looked  directly  at  the  Sly  Old  Codger, 
who  was  sitting  smiling,  with  his  tall  silk  hat  on  his 
knees;  and  everyone  else  in  the  room,  except  Mr.  Han- 
Ion,  looked  very  intently  at  him.  He  noticed  it,  and 
glanced  around  mquiringly,  smiling  more  benevolently 
than   ever. 

"How  beautiful  that  would  be,"  he  said.  "How 
beautiful !  If  some  of  my  dear,  dear  friends  could  only 
have  a  new  heart, — how  beautiful!" 

"Don't  interrupt,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Freddie, 
listen  to  this : 

"  'If  any  be  Little  in  stature,  against  his  desire,  he 
shall  be  Great.'  " 

Freddie  opened  his  eyes  very  wide.  Would  it  be 
possible  to  be  big  at  once,  without  waiting  all  that  long 
dreary  time?    How  glorious  that  would  be! 

"But  this,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "this  is  the  last  and 
the  best.  I  don't  know — whether  I  can — read  it 
right — "  her  voice  broke,  and  she  blew  her  nose  and 
cleared  her  throat — "but  I  will  try.  Oh!  do  you  sup- 
pose it  could  be  true?  Would  a  good  Quaker  captain, 
with  a  sister  in  New  Bedford,  say  it  if  it  wasn't  true? 
With  the  sea  raging  and  both  masts  gone,  and  the 
ship  filling  up  with  water,  and " 


THE  SPANISH  MAIN  73 

"Aunt  Amanda,"  said  Toby,  "if  you  don't  read  the 
rest  of  it  this  minute " 

"Ah,  yes,  Toby,  I  will,"  said.  Aunt  Amanda.  "It 
must  be  true,  or  a  good  man  like  that  wouldn't  have 
said  it.     This  is  the  last  part,  and  the  best: 

"  'If  any  be  Prevented  unjustly  of  Beauty  or  of 
Children  or  of  Love  or  of  Other  like  desires,  there 
shall  be  found  for  him  of  these  a  great  Store :  So  that 
there  shall  be  an  End  of  repining,  and  none  in  that 
Place  shall  say.  Thus  and  thus  might  I  have  been  also, 
had  I  been  but  justly  entreated. 

"  'And  so  I  commit  my  Body  to  the  sea,  and  my 
soul  to '  " 

"Go  on !  go  on !"  cried  the  company — excepting,  of 
course,  Mr.  Hanlon. 

Aunt  Amanda  blew  her  nose  again,  and  laid  down 
the  map  on  the  table.  "That's  all,"  she  said.  "I 
suppose  he  didn't  have  time  to  finish  it." 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  MIXED  COMPANY  IN  SEARCH  OF  ADVENTURE 

A  FTER   Aunt  Amanda   had   stopped   reading,   it 
A^      was  a  moment  or  two  before  anyone  spoke. 
-^  ^         "If    all    those    things,"    said    Mr.    Toby 
thoughtfully,  "could  be  done  in  that  Island,  I'd  be  in 
favor  of  going  there." 

There  was  a  general  murmur  of  assent,  and  Mr. 
Hanlon  nodded  his  head. 

"Well,"  went  on  Mr.  Toby,  "we'd  better  make  up 
our  minds  what  we  want  to  do  about  it.  The  Church- 
warden ain't  had  his  say  yet,  what  with  all  these  inter- 
ruptions, and  I  move  we  give  him  a  chance  to  have 
his  say,  right  now.  Speak  up.  Warden;  what  do  you 
think  we  ought  to  do?" 

"As  I  was  saying,"  said  the  Churchwarden,  looking 
around  solemnly,  "while  I  don't  hold  to  my  own  opinion 
if  anybody  else  can  think  up  something  better,  still  it 
seems  to  me — But  maybe  you'd  ruther  hear  from  the 
others  first." 

"No,  no !"  cried  the  whole  company, — except  Mr. 
Hanlon,  who  shook  his  head  vigorously. 

"Well,  then,  being  as  you've  asked  me  so  particular, 
and  having  thought  about  it  considerable, — as  I  was 
saying,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  best  thing  to  do  would 
be  to — This  is  only  the  way  it  looks  to  me,  you  under- 
stand, and  I  ain't  speaking  for  nobody  but  myself,  and 
I  don't  pretend  that  my  opinion  is  worth " 

"By  crackey!"  cried  Mr.  Toby,  very  rudely.  "Ain't 
you  the  most  maddening  old  feller  that  ever  was  in  the 

74 


IN  SEARCH  OF  ADVENTURE  75 

world?     Come  on,  now,  tell  us  what  to  do,  and  be 
quick  about  it!" 

"Call  up  the  Able  Seaman!" 

This  was  so  unexpected  that  nobody  spoke  for  a 
moment. 

"Hurrah  !"  cried  Toby.  "Now  you've  said  it.  We'll 
call  up  Mr.  Lemuel  Mizzen — is  that  his  name?  That's 
the  thing  to  do!  Do  you  all  agree  to  that?"  Every- 
body approved,  and  Mr.  Toby  turned  to  Freddie. 
"He's  your  man,  Freddie,  and  if  you've  done  it  once, 
I  reckon  it  won't  be  any  harm  for  you  to  do  it  again. 
Wait  a  m/mute."  And  he  ran  into  the  shop,  and  im- 
mediately returned  with  the  Chinaman's  head  and  a 
churchwarden  pipe. 

"Now,  then,  Freddie,"  he  said.  "Will  you  do  it 
again?" 

"No,  sir,"  said  Freddie.  "I'd  rather  not." 

"You  shouldn't  make  him  do  it,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"Nonsense,  Aunt  Amanda !"  cried  Toby.  "He's  as 
bad  now  as  he'll  ever  be,  and  it  ain't  agoing  to  do  him 
no  harm.     I'll  fill  the  pipe." 

"Hit's  quite  a  lark,"  said  Mr.  Punch,  laughing 
heartily.    "Fancy  the  little  beggar's  smoking  a  pipe  !" 

"My  dear  little  friend,"  began  the  Sly  Old  Fox, 
beaming  upon  Freddie.  "You  must  always  remember 
that  your  elders  know  best " 

"Here,  Freddie,"  said  Mr.  Toby,  having  filled  the 
pipe,  "sit  down  here."  And  he  pushed  Freddie  gently 
down  upon  his  accustomed  hassock  at  Aunt  Amanda's 
feet. 

Freddie  shook  his  'head,  but  Mr.  Toby  put  the  pipe 
into  his  mouth  and  lit  a  match.  All  the  others  sat  in 
silence,  watching  Freddie  intently. 

"Now,  then!"  said  Toby.  "Pull  away!"  And  he 
touched  the  lighted  match  to  the  pipeful  of  black 
tobacco. 


76  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Freddie  gave  a  pull,  and  blew  out  a  cloud  of  smoke. 
He  did  not  choke  this  time.  He  gave  another  pull, 
and  blew  out  another  cloud.  The  white  smoke  lay  above 
the  heads  of  the  company  in  a  thick  mass;  it  grew 
thicker,  so  that  he  could  not  see  through  it;  it  began  to 
move,  as  if  in  a  high  wind.  He  drew  on  the  pipe 
once  more,  and  blew  out  another  cloud  of  smoke.  He 
knew  what  was  coming,  and  in  fact  the  same  thing 
happened  that  had  happened  to  him  before.  The 
white  cloud  churned  about,  with  its  barber-poles  and 
jets  of  fire,  coming  down  closer  and  closer  upon  him, 
and  in  a  jiffy  he  was  sitting  in  midair  on  his  hassock, 
and  then  he  felt  himself  falling,  falling;  and  as  he 
struck  the  bottom  with  a  jar,  he  heard,  very  distinctly, 
a  knock  on  the  door;  and  he  was  sitting  again  on  his 
hassock  at  Aunt  Amanda's  feet  in  the  quiet  room,  with 
no  sign  of  a  cloud  anywhere  to  be  seen. 

"Come  in!"  he  heard  Mr.  Toby  cry. 

The  door  opened,  and  in  walked  Mr.  Lemuel  Miz- 
zen,  A.  B.,  as  cool  as  a  cucumber. 

He  took  off  his  flat  blue  cap  with  the  black  ribbon, 
and  made  a  bow  to  the  company. 

"Piped  me  aft  again,  and  good  evening  to  you  all!" 
said  he,  in  his  hoarse  voice.  "Lemuel  Mizzen,  A.  B. ! 
That's  me!  What'll  it  be?  All  ready  for  orders, 
skipper!  It  was  just  half  past  by  the  starboard  watch, 
and  the  skippers  their  apples  were  quietly  peeling,  when 
I  locked  up  the  last  of  the  lemons  and  Scotch,  and 
lay  on  my  bed  looking  up  at  the  ceiling,  to  snatch  forty 
winks,  as  I  foolishly  reckoned;  but  just  as  I  thinks, 
'Thirty-first,  thirty-second,'  there's  a  ring  at  the  bell  of 
the  big  front-door,  and  the  mates  come  and  yell  that 
Pm  wanted  ashore;  so  I  tucks  in  my  cap  the  eight 
points  of  my  nap,  and  just  before  stopping  to  turn 
down  the  lights,  I  runs  to  the  dresser  and  puts  it  to 
rights,  and  then  before  giving  a  last  look  behind,  I  goes 


IN  SEARCH  OF  ADVENTURE  77 

to  the  bed  and  takes  off  the  spread,  and  lays  out  to 
air  the  three  sheets  in  the  wind!  And  here  I  be,"  con- 
cluded the  Able  Seaman,  "all  ready  for  orders,"  And 
he  looked  very  hard  at  Freddie. 

"Well!"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  gasping.  "I  never  in 
my  life  heard  such  a " 

"I'll  tell  you  what  it  is,  Mr.  Mizzen,"  said  Toby. 
"It's  about  Correction  Island,  on  the  Spanish  Main." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir !"  said  Mr.  Mizzen.  "Would  you  like 
to  go  there?" 

"Ah!"  said  everyone  at  once,  except  Mr.  Hanlon, 
who  nodded  his  head. 

"No  trouble  at  all,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen.  "Just  step 
into  The  Sieve,  and  we'll  be  off.  A  sweet  little  bark 
is  The  Sieve,  provided  there's  plenty  of  dippers;  but 
we  always  go  well  provided.  Is  the  whole  party 
going?" 

"One  moment,  if  you  please,"  said  the  Sly  Old 
Codger.  "There  is  one  Tittle  point  on  which  I — that 
is  to  say — Will  there  be  any  expense?" 

"Not  a  penny,"  said  Mr,  Mizzen.  "Everything's 
found.  Orders  from  the  skipper.  What  he  says 
goes," 

"Ah!"  said  the  Sly  Old  Fox.  "The  Spanish  Main! 
With  all  the  little  parrots  and  monkeys  flitting  about 
in  the  branches  of  the  upas  trees ! — I  think  I  will 
join," 

"I  reckon  we're  all  going,"  said  Mr,  Toby,  "Is 
everybody  agreed?  All  right.  It's  settled.  And  my 
vote  is,  to  go  right  now,  while  we've  got  hold  of  our 
Able  Seaman  here," 

"Shouldn't  I  tell  mother  first?"  asked  Freddie, 

"I'll  write  her  a  note  in  the  morning,"  said  Toby. 
"I'll  fix  it;  you  leave  it  to  me," 

"I  suppose  I  really  ought  to  finish  this  sewing,"  said 
Aunt  Amanda, 


78  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"No  time,"  said  Toby,  who  seemed  to  be  managing 
everything.    "Where's  the  ship,  Mr.  Mizzen?" 

"Made  fast  to  the  wharf  at  the  foot  of  this  street," 
said  Mr.  Mizzen. 

"Then  let's  go,"  said  Toby. 

He  ran  out  of  the  room,  and  returned  with  his  white 
derby  hat  on  his  head,  and  his  hand-painted  necktie 
neatly  in  its  place.  He  helped  Aunt  Amanda  to  get  up, 
and  brought  her  her  little  black  bonnet,  which  she  put 
on  and  tied  under  her  chin,  and  her  cashmere  shawl, 
which  she  put  around  her  shoulders. 

"All  right!"  cried  Toby.  "We're  off!   Come  along!" 

"We're  off  to  the  Spanish  Main,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen, 
in  his  curious  sing-song,  "to  the  wet  Antipodee;  but 
dry  or  wet  we  need  not  fret,  for  we  are  bold  as  bold 
can  be;  and  on  the  way  at  Botany  Bay  we'll  probably 
stay  a  week  or  two,  to  gather  ferns  as  the  Botanists 
do,  and  then  we'll  stop  at  the  door  of  Spain,  to  ask 
the  way  to  the  Spanish  Main,  and  so  without  any  more 
delay,  on  the  Spanish  Main  we'll  all  alight,  where  the 
star-fish  shines  in  the  sea  all  night,  and  the  dog-star 
barks  in  the  sky  all  day — Here,  skipper,  put  this  in  your 
pocket,  and  hold  fast  to  it."  He  handed  Freddie  the 
map,  and  Freddie  put  it  away  safely  in  his  pocket. 

"Have  you  got  the  Odour  of  Sanctity?"  said  Mr. 
Toby  to  the  Churchwarden. 

"Right  here,"  said  the  fat  man,  tapping  his  back 
pocket. 

"I'll  carry  the  Chinaman's  tobacco,"  said  Toby.  "We 
may  need  it."  And  he  tucked  the  Chinaman's  head 
under  his  arm. 

In  a  few  moments  the  whole  party  were  standing 
on  the  pavement  outside,  and  Toby  locked  the  shop- 
door  behind  them.  They  crossed  the  street,  and  as 
they  did  so  they  heard  a  faint  voice  halloing  from  the 
top  of  the  church  tower,  and  they  could  make  out 


IN  SEARCH  OF  ADVENTURE  79 

that  it  said,  "Punch!  Punch!"  But  Mr.  Punch  only 
sniffed  and  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  made  no 
answer. 

It  was  very  dark.  The  gas-lamps  at  the  corners  only 
made  the  darkness  gloomier.  The  only  sound  they 
heard,  after  Mr.  Punch's  father's  voice  had  died  away 
behind  them,  was  the  stump-stump  of  the  Old  Codger's 
wooden  leg  on  the  brick  pavement.  All  the  dwelling- 
houses  were  closed,  and  as  they  came  nearer  to  the 
wharves  all  the  warehouses  were  dark  and  awful.  Not 
a  soul  was  to  be  seen,  except  that  once  they  saw  the 
back  of  a  policeman  as  he  disappeared  around  a  dark 
corner  in  advance.  At  the  sight  of  this  policeman's 
back,  and  in  the  shadow  of  a  great  gloomy  building 
alongside  an  alley,  Freddie  slipped  his  hand  into  the 
Able  Seaman's  big  paw.  He  wondered  if  he  were  doing 
quite  right  in  leaving  home  without  saying  a  word  to 
his  mother,  but  Mr.  Toby  had  promised  to  do  what- 
ever was  necessary,  and  anyway,  he  was  going  aboard 
a  ship !  If  he  should  stop  to  speak  to  his  mother  about 
going  away  on  a  voyage  in  a  ship,  he  felt  somehow 
that  he  might  never  go.  He  could  already  smell  the 
delicious  odour  of  tarred  ropes. 

Their  progress  was  very  slow,  on  account  of  Aunt 
Amanda's  lameness.  First  came  Mr.  Mizzen,  leading 
the  way  with  Freddie  by  his  side.  Next  came  Aunt 
Amanda,  limping  with  her  cane,  and  supported  on  one 
side  by  Mr.  Toby  and  on  the  other  by  Mr.  Punch.  Be- 
hind them  walked  the  Churchwarden  and  the  Sly  Old 
Fox,  and  last  of  all  Mr.  Hanlon,  and  the  Old  Codger 
with  the  Wooden  Leg. 

They  could  see  not  far  before  them  the  ghost-like 
masts  and  shrouds  of  ships,  looking  as  if  they  were 
growing  up  from  the  street  among  the  buildings;  and 
in  another  moment  they  found  themselves  standing  in 
a  group  on  a  wide  wharf,  piled  up  with  bales  and 


8o  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

boxes,  and  before  them,  against  the  edge  of  the  wharf, 
where  the  black  water  was  lapping  the  piles,  stood  a 
tall  ship  with  most  of  her  sails  set.  Freddie  thrilled 
in  every  vein  of  his  body.  At  that  moment  he  did 
not  think  of  his  father  or  mother;  he  thought  of  noth- 
ing but  the  smell  of  brackish  water  and  tarred  ropes, 
and  the  deck  of  a  ship  on  the  open  sea  under  a  cloud 
of  canvas,  and  the  far-av/ay  Spanish  Main. 

The  Able  Seaman  led  the  company  of  adventurers 
forward  between  the  bales  and  boxes,  until  they  stood 
beside  the  dark  hull  of  the  ship.  He  turned  round 
and  faced  them  and  touched  his  cap  respectfully. 

"Come  aboard,"  said  he. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  SIEVE 

HEN  Freddie  awoke  the  next  morning,  he 
leaned  up  on  his  elbow,  rubbing  his  eyes,  and 
was  surprised  to  see  the  floor  of  the  little 
room  in  which  he  found  himself  settling  slowly  down 
at  one  side.  In  a  moment  the  floor  rose  again  on 
that  side,  and  the  other  side  settled  down.  Then  the 
whole  room  tilted  sideways  and  back  again.  It  made 
him  dizzy,  and  he  closed  his  eyes,  wondering  what  kind 
of  a  house  he  had  gotten  into.  He  decided  he  would 
get  up  and  find  out  about  It. 

He  carefully  rose,  and  tried  to  walk  across  the  floor 
to  the  window.  As  he  stepped  out,  the  floor  seemed 
to  go  down  under  him,  and  he  quickly  grasped  the 
bed;  he  put  out  his  foot  again,  and  the  floor  rose  up; 
he  was  dizzier  than  before,  and  he  had  a  queer  sink- 
ing feeling  In  his  stomach.  As  the  floor  tilted  down 
sideways  again,  he  made  a  dash  to  the  opposite  wall, 
and  held  on  there  by  the  window;  but  the  floor  sank 
again,  and  he  made  another  dash,  back  to  bed.  He 
was  cold  and  hot,  and  his  head  ached,  and  there  was  a 
feeling  In  his  stomach  as  if — oh  dear!  He  decided  he 
would  lie  In  bed  for  a  few  moments  until  he  felt  better. 

He  remained  there  for  two  days. 

What  occurred  during  those  two  days  he  could  not 
remember  very  well  afterwards.  He  slept  a  great  deal, 
and  It  seemed  that  some  one  with  a  green  patch  over 
his  eye  came  in  now  and  then;  but  he  paid  very  little 


82  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

attention.     All  he  wanted  was  to  go  to  sleep  and  stay 
asleep. 

On  the  morning  after  his  third  night  he  sat  up  wide 
awake.  He  was  hungry.  He  jumped  up  and  dressed 
in  a  hurry.  As  the  floor  tilted  and  sank  and  rose  with 
him  he  thought  he  had  never  felt  so  delicious  a  sensa- 
tion. He  wondered  if  there  would  be  bacon  and  eggs 
for  breakfast. 

In  a  moment  he  had  thrown  open  the  door  and  he 
was  running  up  a  short  flight  of  steps.  He  was  weak 
and  tottery,  but  he  paid  no  attention  to  that.  He  was 
at  the  top  of  the  steps,  and  he  drew  in  a  deep  breath 
of  the  cool  morning  air. 

He  was  standing  on  the  deck  of  a  great  ship.  Over 
his  head  clouds  and  clouds  of  beautiful  white  canvas 
swelled  out  to  the  breeze.  The  sun  was  sparkling  mer- 
rily on  the  water,  and  there  was  no  land  to  be  seen 
anywhere.  Up  forward,  the  bow  of  the  ship  was  dip- 
ping and  rising  regularly.  There  were  three  tall  masts, 
and  on  the  first  two  the  sails  were  set  square  to  the 
masts,  and  on  the  third  lengthwise;  every  sail  seemed 
to  be  up.    It  was  glorious. 

He  walked  forward  up  the  deck.  Here  and  there 
were  men  in  blue  over-alls,  cleaning  the  deck,  coiling 
ropes,  and  polishing  metal;  and  in  a  little  house  with 
windows  a  man  was  standing  beside  an  upright  wheel. 
Near  the  first  mast,  in  a  group,  were  Aunt  Amanda, 
Mr.  Toby,  the  Churchwarden,  and  the  two  old  Cod- 
gers.    Freddie  hailed  them  with  a  shout. 

"All  right,  young  feller,"  cried  Mr.  Toby,  as  Fred- 
die came  up,  "here  we  are!  How  is  this  for  a  corking 
spree?  Beats  all  the  Tolchester  excursions  you  ever 
see,  that's  what  I  say!  Blamed  if  it  don't.  I  ain't 
been  out  of  bed  for  two  days." 

"No  more  has  any  of  us,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.    "Do 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  SIEVE  83 

you  feel  well,  Freddie?  I  declare  I'm  quite  excited. 
Isn't  the  air  invigorating?" 

"Yes'm,"  said  Freddie,  "What  did  you  say  In  your 
note,  Mr.  Toby?" 

"What  note?"  said  Toby. 

"Why,  your  note  to  my  mother,  explaining  about  me 
and " 

"By  crackey!"  cried  Toby.  "Blamed  If  I  didn't 
clean  forget  all  about  it!  Now  ain't  that  too  bad! 
What  on  earth  are  we  going  to  do  about  It?" 

"Well!"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Now  ain't  that  just 
like  you,  Toby  Littleback?  I  declare  if  your  head 
wasn't  fastened  on  you'd " 

"Wery  reprehensible,"  said  Mr.  Punch.     "Wery," 

"My  dear  friends,"  said  the  Sly  Old  Codger,  "let  us 
not  be  disquieted  on  such  a  morning  as  this.  Every- 
thing is  so  beautiful.  So  beautiful!  And  without  any 
expense  whatever.  It  Is  a  precious  thought.  How 
pleasant  it  is  to  hear  the  breeze  blowing  so  gently 
among  all  the  little  capstans  up  there!" 

He  took  off  his  high  silk  hat  and  looked  up  among 
the  sails  with  a  rapt  expression  on  his  face,  and  all  the 
others  looked  up  too,  trying  to  see  the  capstans  flut- 
tering In  the  breeze. 

"Look!"  cried  Aunt  Amanda.  "Why,  there's  Mr. 
Hanlon!" 

Far,  far  up,  near  the  top  of  the  second  mast,  was  a 
white  figure,  standing  on  a  rope  under  the  topmost 
sail,  and  holding  on  with  one  hand  and  waving  the 
other  down  at  the  passengers.  Mr.  Toby  waved  his 
white  derby,  and  Mr.  Hanlon  began  to  come  down. 
Freddie  trembled  with  alarm,  but  Mr.  Hanlon  was 
obviously  having  the  time  of  his  life.  He  skipped 
swiftly  along  his  dangerous  perch,  and  sliding  down 
and  along  the  spars  of  wood  that  held  the  sails,  and 
actually  leaping   from   one  to  another,   and  tripping 


84  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

lightly  down  ladders  of  rope,  while  the  whole  top 
swayed  dizzily  from  side  to  side,  he  at  length  came 
down  on  the  deck  with  a  bounce,  and  bowing  to  every- 
body shook  Freddie  by  the  hand. 

"Here  comes  the  Able  Seaman!"  cried  Toby.  "And 
see  what  he's  got  on  his  wrist!" 

Mr.  Lemuel  Mizzen  came  rolling  down  the  deck, 
and  as  he  approached  he  took  off  his  cap  with  his  left 
hand  and  made  a  bow.  On  his  right  wrist  was  a 
blue  and  red  parrot,  who  cocked  his  head  sideways  at 
the  strangers,  and  then  looked  up  inquiringly  at  the 
Able  Seaman. 

"Good  morning,  all!"  said  Mr.  Mizzen.  "Glad  to 
see  the  passengers  come  to  life  again !  Nothing  like 
the  open  sea,  lady  and  gentlemen!" 

"Are  you  sure  it's  perfectly  safe?"  said  Aunt 
Amanda. 

"Perfectly  safe,  ma'am.  A  tight  little  bark  is  The 
Sieve,  provided  the  dippers  hold  out.  Most  of  the  men 
is  below  now,  baling  out  the  water  with  their  dippers, 
and  the  ship  ain't  leaking  more  than  ordinary — yet. 
Of  course  you  never  can  tell  what  may  happen,  but 
there's  plenty  of  dippers,  unless  we  should  founder  in 
a  storm,  or  split  up  on  the  rocks,  or " 

"Mercy  on  us !"  cried  Aunt  Amanda.  "I  wish  we 
hadn't  come.     If  I  only  had  some  sewing  with  me." 

"Would  you  mend  socks,  ma'am?" 

"Oh,  that  would  be  lovely!  And  I  could  look  after 
the  men's  shirts,  too,  and  count  the  laundry  when  It 
comes  home,  and — Pm  sure  we  are  going  to  have  a 
delightful  voyage !  I  feel  better  already.  I  don't  be- 
lieve there's  any  danger  after  all.  It's  all  nonsense 
about  the  ship's  leaking." 

"Who's  your  f-f-f-frlends,  L-l-lem?"  shrieked  a  voice 
from  Mr.  MIzzen's  wrist. 

Everyone  started,  and  looked  in  amazement  at  the 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  SIEVE  85 

parrot,  whose  head  was  perked  sideways  up  at  Mr. 
iMizzen's  face. 

"L-l-lem!"  shrieked  the  parrot,  stuttering  terribly. 
''Who's  your  f-f-f-friends?" 

"Never  you  mind,"  said  Lemuel,  "you'll  find  out 
soon  enough.  Breakfast's  ready.  Anybody  want  break- 
fast?" 

Before  anyone  had  a  chance  to  reply,  the  parrot 
opened  his  mouth  wide  and  gave  a  loud  laugh,  and 
cried  out: 

"Th-th-three  ch-cheers!  Th-th-there's  ch-ch-chops, 
s-s-steak,  b-b-bacon  and  eggs !  I'll  have  1-1-1-liver  and 
onions !  Ha  !  ha  !  ha !  Th-th-three  ch-cheers  for 
1-1-1-liver  and  onions!" 

"Be  quiet,  Marmaduke,"  said  the  Able  Seaman. 
"I'll  lock  you  up  again,  if  you  ain't  careful." 

"K-k-k-ker-c^ oo.''"  said  Marmaduke,  giving  a  loud 
sneeze;  and  rubbed  his  beak  with  his  foot  and  flut- 
tered his  feathers.  "L-1-l-lock  me  up  in  the  a-a-after 
hold,  till  I  g-g-g-get  all  over  this  d-d-d-dreadful  cold ! 
Th-th-three  ch-cheers  for  hay  f-f-f-fever!  K-k-k-ker- 
chooT 

"I'll  lock  you  up  in  the  after  hold,  If  you  don't  quit 
being  so  fresh  and  bold;  I'll  learn  you  manners  before 
I'm  through,  and  if  ever  I  hear  one  little — " 

"Ker-c/ioo/"  said  Marmaduke,  finishing  Mr.  Miz- 
zen's  sentence  for  him  very  neatly. 

Everyone  laughed,  except  the  Able  Seaman. 

"All  right,"  said  he,  "just  wait  till  I've  had  my  chow, 
I'll  attend  to  you  proper;  now  off  with  you — now!" 
And  he  tossed  Master  Marmaduke  off  his  wrist  up 
into  the  air.  The  parrot  lit  on  a  spar  overhead,  just 
under  a  sail,  and  peered  down  at  the  company  with- 
out the  least  appearance   of  embarrassment. 

"If  there's  b-b-b-bacon  and  eggs,"  he  cried,  "I'll 
take  1-1-1-liver !    Th-th-three  ch-ch-cheers  for  1-1-1-liver !" 


86 


THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 


"L-l-leml"  shrieked  the  parrot.     "Who's  your 
f.f.f.friends?" 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  SIEVE  87 

Freddie  burst  into  a  merry  laugh,  and  all  his  friends 
joined;  all  except  Mr.  Punch,  who  looked  puzzled. 

"  'Ow  could  'e  'ave  liver,"  said  he,  "hif  there  was 
only  by  con   an'   heggs?" 

At  this  everyone  laughed  louder  than  before,  and 
Mr.  Punch  was  completely  perplexed. 

"I'll  explain  that  to  you  some  day,"  said  Toby. 
"Didn't  you  never  hear  a  joke?" 

"Ho,  yes,"  said  Mr.  Punch.  "HI  'eard  a  wery 
good  joke  once;  a  wery  good  one  indeed.  Hi'U  re- 
late It  to  you.    When  I  was  a  lad — " 

"There's  the  breakfast  bell,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen. 
"Sorry  to  Interrupt,  but  we  mustn't  let  it  get  cold. 
We'll  hold  the  election  afterwards." 

No  one,  waited  to  hear  Mr.  Punch's  joke.  The 
Able  Seaman  led  the  way,  and  all  the  others  followed 
him  down  the  deck,  towards  a  kind  of  three-sided 
box  which  opened  on  a  stairway  below. 

In  a  moment  or  two  they  found  themselves  In  the 
dining-saloon,  and  In  another  moment  they  were 
seated  about  a  round  table,  set  for  breakfast.  The 
passengers  insisted  on  the  Able  Seaman's  sitting  down 
with   them,   and  he   consented  to   do   so. 

A  lad  of  about  eighteen  entered,  to  wait  on  the 
table.  He  had  a  shock  of  bright  red  hair,  and  a  kind 
of  frightened  look  in  his  eyes,  as  if  he  were  afraid 
he  would  do  everything  wrong,  and  would  always  be 
in  hot  water  about  It.  He  stood  behind  the  Able  Sea- 
man's chair,  and  began  to  make  a  queer  contortion  of 
the  face,  in  an  effort  to  speak. 

"Th-th-th-there's — "   he  began. 

"Skipper  first,"  Interrupted  Mr.  Mizzen,  nodding 
towards  Freddie. 

The  Cabin-boy  (for  that  was  what  he  was)  went 
to  Freddie's  chair,  and  began  to  speak  again,  with 
the  same  contortion  of  the  face. 


88  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"Th-th-th-there's  ch-ch-chops,  s-s-s-steak,  b-b-b-bacon 
and  eggs,"  he  said. 

*'Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie. 

The  Cabin-boy  stared  in  bewilderment,  and  began 
again. 

"Th-th-th-there's  ch-ch-chops,  s-s-s-steak,  b-b-b-bacon 
and  eggs,"  said  he. 

•"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  much  embarrassed. 

"I  don't  blame  you,  skipper,"  said  the  Able  Seaman. 
"I  would  too,  if  I  hadn't  eaten  for  two  days.     Next!" 

The  Cabin-boy  stood  behind  Aunt  Amanda's  chair, 
and  began: 

"Th-th-th-there's  ch-ch-chops,  s-s-s-steak,  b-b-b-bacon 
and — Ker-c7zoo.^"  He  gave  a  hearty  sneeze,  and  pulled 
out  his  pocket-handkerchief;  so  he  had  to  begin  all 
over  again: 

"Th-th-th-there's  ch-ch-chops,  s-s-s-s-s — " 

"Chops,  thank  you,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

The  Cabin-boy  took  his  stand  behind  Toby's  chair, 
and  began : 

"There's — there's — th-th-th-th — Ker-choof  Th-th- 
there's  ch-ch-ch-chops,  s-s-s-s-s — " 

"Chops  and  steak,"  said  Toby. 

The  Cabin-boy  stood  behind  each  of  the  other  chairs 
in  turn,  and  repeated  each  time  his  entire  list.  Every- 
body gave  a  different  order,  and  the  boy  became  so 
bewildered  at  last  that  he  wiped  his  forehead  with  his 
pocket-handkerchief,  brushed  a  tear  from  his  eye,  and 
when  he  had  taken  the  last  order  dashed  out  of  the 
door  with  a  kind  of  sob. 

As  soon  as  he  was  gone,  sounds  came  through  the 
door  by  which  he  had  left,  as  if  a  dreadful  row  was 
going  on  in  the  next  room. 

"Frightful  temper,  that  cook,"  said  the  Able  Sea- 
man, "but  the  boy  certainly  does  get  on  his  nerves." 

In  a  short  time  the  Cabin-boy  came  in  with  four 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  SIEVE  89 

plates  at  once,  and  as  he  reached  Freddie's  chair  the 
ship  gave  a  deep  lurch  downward,  and  the  four  plates 
shot  out  of  his  arms  across  the  room,  showering  the 
floor  with  chops,  steak,  bacon  and  eggs. 

The  boy  gave  a  wild  cry  and  burst  Into  tears,  and  fled 
through  the  door.  From  the  next  room  came  the  sound 
of  a  row  more  violent  than  before. 

"Never  mind,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen,  "he'll  be  back." 

He  came  back  presently,  his  eyes  very  red,  and 
stumbling  in  and  out  managed  to  put  down  before 
each  one  a  plate.  Every  plate  contained  chops,  steak, 
bacon  and  eggs. 

"Now,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen,  when  the  breakfast  was 
over,  "we'll  go  up  and  hold  the  election." 

When  they  came  on  deck,  they  were  astonished  to 
see  a  considerable  number  of  men  in  blue  overalls, 
who  were  sitting  on  the  deck  in  a  group.  As  the 
passengers  approached,  they  stood  up  respectfully,  and 
one  of  them  said  something  privately  to  Mr.  Mizzen. 

"They've  held  the  election  already,"  said  the  Able 
Seaman,  turning  to  the  passengers.  "There's  three 
dozen  of  'em,  and  they've  elected  the  captains  and 
mates  for  the  voyage;  thirteen  captains  and  twenty- 
three  mates.  They  went  right  ahead  without  waiting 
for  me,  so  I'm  the  only  Able  Seaman  left  on  the  ship." 

"What!"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Do  you  mean  to 
tell  me— ?"   ^ 

"It's  all  right,  madam,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen  in  an 
undertone.  "You  see,  they're  all  free  and  equal,  and 
everything  goes  by  voting.  They  won't  have  it  any 
other  way.  It's  lucky  they  didn't  all  want  to  be  cap- 
tains. It's  all  right,  anyway,  because  there's  none  of 
'em  knows  anything  about  navigation,  and  I'm  the  only 
one  on  board  that  does  know;  so  it  comes  to  the  same 
thing  as  If  they  had  elected  me  captain.  But  of  course 
they  don't  think  of  that.     Not  a  word.     I'll  send  'em 


90  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

about  their  business  now,  as  soon  as  they've  put  on 
their  uniforms." 

"Well!"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  gasping.  "I  never  in 
my  life—!" 

The  thirteen  captains  and  the  twenty-three  mates 
disappeared  from  the  deck  in  a  hurry,  and  in  a  very 
few  minutes  reappeared.  Each  one  of  them  wore,  in 
place  of  his  blue  overalls,  a  smart  blue  suit  with  brass 
buttons  and  gold  braid,  and  a  jaunty^  blue  cap  with 
gold  braid  around  it;  the  mates  having  only  nine  in- 
stead of  ten  rows  of  braid  around  their  sleeves. 

The  Able  Seaman  led  them  aside,  and  after  a  few 
words  with  them  returned  to  his  passengers. 

"Everything's  settled,"  said  he.  "Some  of  them 
are  going  below  with  their  dippers,  and  the  rest  of 
them  are  to  look  after  handling  the  ship.  The  navi- 
gation is  left  to  me.  We'll  get  along  fine  now,  pro- 
vided the  leaks  don't  get  any  worse." 

Freddie  wandered  off  by  himself,  to  inspect  the  ship. 
He  could  walk  very  well  now,  in  spite  of  the  roll  of  the 
ship,  and  he  went  everywhere.  He  found  himself 
finally  on  the  after  deck,  leaning  over  the  rail  and 
watching  the  wake  of  the  ship  boiling  away  so  white 
and  beautiful  behind.  He  was  more  and  more  de- 
lighted with  this  strange  adventure.  It  was  too  bad 
that  Mr.  I'oby  had  forgotten  to  write  the  note  to  his 
mother,  but  it  couldn't  be  helped  now,  and  they  would 
sometime  find  a  place  somewhere  or  other  where  they 
could  post  a  letter.  It  was  so  entrancing  to  be  actu- 
ally at  sea  on  a  ship,  with  the  deck  rising  and  falling, 
and  the  wake  boiling  away  behind,  and  land  nowhere 
in  sight,  that  it  would  seem  a  pity  ever  to  arrive  at 
the  Spanish  Main;  but  the  thought  of  adventures 
there — !  However,  he  was  in  no  hurry  to  have  the 
Voyage  over. 

Aunt  Amanda  was  sitting  somewhere  with  a  pile  of 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  SIEVE  9 1 

sailors'  socks  In  her  lap,  perfectly  contented.  Mr. 
Hanlon  was  swinging  his  feet  away  up  yonder  from 
the  topmost  yard  of  the  second  mast.  The  Church- 
warden, Mr.  Punch,  Toby,  and  the  Sly  Old  Fox  were 
engaged  in  an  earnest  discussion  in  chairs  beside  the 
deck-house.  The  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden  Leg 
was  speaking  confidentially  in  the  ear  of  the  twenty- 
first  mate,  in  an  effort  to  borrow  a  pipeful  of  tobacco. 

Suddenly  Freddie  heard  behind  him  the  loud  harsh 
laughter  of  Marmaduke  the  parrot.  Turning  round, 
he  saw  the  parrot  perched  on  the  ship's  rail,  and  before 
him  was  the  Cabin-boy,  shaking  his  finger  In  the  par- 
rot's face,  and  storming  away  at  him  angrily.  Freddie 
immediately  went  over  to  them. 

"I  w-w-w-won't  s-s-s-s-stand  it  no  1-1-1-1-longer !"  the 
Cabin-boy  was  bawling,  his  face  nearly  as  red  as 
his  hair.  "I  w-w-w-won't!  W-w-w-what  do  you 
m-m-m-mean  by  m-m-m-mocking  me  all  the  t-t-t-ime?" 

"Who?     M-m-m-m-m-me ?"  said  the  parrot. 

"I'-y-y-yaas,  y-y-y-you !"  cried  the  Cabin-boy.  "Just 
because  I  s-s-s-s-s-stutter,  do  you — do  you — do  you  have 
to — have  to — s-s-s-s-stut-stutter  too?" 

"M-m-m-m-me?  You're  entirely  m-m-m-m-mlstaken. 
You're  the  one  that  s-s-s-stut-s-s-s-stutters." 

"Ain't  you  always  s-s-saying — saying — ch-ch-chops, 
s-s-s-steak,  b-b-b-b-bacon  and  eggs?  Ain't  you?  You've 
got  to  k-k-k-k-qult — r-r-right  now,  d'you  hear?  I 
w-w-w-won't  s-s-s-stand  It  no  l-l-l-l-longer,  and  you 
b-b'b-better  b-b-b-believe  it!" 

"Highty-tlghty!  Sixty,  ninety!  Uncle  Sam!  Pop 
pop !  Th-th-there's  ch-ch-chops,  s-s-s-steak,  b-b-b-bacon 
and  eggs !  Th-th-three  ch-ch-cheers  for  1-1-1-lIver  and 
onions !" 

The  poor  Cabin-boy  burst  out  crying. 

"All  ri-I-i-Ight,"  he  sobbed,  stamping  his  foot.  "All 
ri-I-I-Ight.    I  c-c-can't  help  It — If — I  do  s-s-stutter.    But 


92  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

there  ain't  no  p-p-p-p-parrot  going  to  m-m-m-m-mock 
me,  M-m-m-m-mizzen  nor  no  M-m-m-m-mizzen.  I'll 
wring — your — bla-a-a-asted — neck  first,  you  ornery — 
1-I-l-Iittle — varmint,  you  s-s-s-see  if  I — see  if  I — d-d-d- 
don't!" 

"M  arm  a  duke's  my  name!"  shrieked  the  parrot. 
"Please  to  note  the  same!  Pop,  pop,  pop!  I'll  have 
1-1-1-liver  and  onions,  1-i-l-l-liver  and  onions,  1-1-1-1-liver 
and  onions,  pop,  pop,  pop!" 

The  Cabin-boy,  shaking  with  sobs,  raised  his  hand 
threateningly. 

"D-d-d-d-don't  you  d-d-d-dare  t-t-t-to — Ker-choof" 
He  sneezed,  and  out  came  his  handkerchief. 

^^Ker-choof"  sneezed  the  parrot,  and  rubbed  his 
beak  with  his  foot. 

This  was  the  last  straw.  The  Cabin-boy  reached 
for  Marmaduke's  neck,  and  would  surely  have  choked 
him  then  and  there,  if  Freddie  had  not  caught  his 
arm  and  pulled  him  away. 

The  Cabin-boy  allowed  himself  to  be  led  off,  and 
Freddie  drew  him  along  towards  the  companion-way. 

"Come  along  down  to  my  room,"  said  Freddie. 

"All  r-r-right,"  said  the  Cabin-boy,  wiping  his  eyes 
and  sniffling.  "I'll  c-c-c-come,  b-b-b-but  there's  going 
to  be  trouble — trouble — on  this  sh-sh-sh-ship  along  o' 
that  p-p-p-parrot  before  this — before  this  v-v-v-voyage 
— is  over,  you  m-m-m-mark  m-m-m-m-my  w-w-w-w- 
words!" 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE     cabin-boy's     REVENGE 

T  was  a  soft  moonlight  night  in  southern  seas.  Our 
party  of  adventurers,  with  Mr.  Mizzen  in  their 
midst,  were  sitting  quietly  on  the  after  part  of  the 
deck,  enjoying  the  balmy  air  and  watching  the  bright 
track  which  the  full  moon  made  on  the  water.  The 
sea  was  very  calm.  There  was  only  a  light  breeze,  and 
The  Sieve  was  hardly  moving. 

Mr.  Mizzen  was  scratching  the  head  of  Marmaduke 
the  parrot,  who  was  perched  on  the  Able  Seaman's 
wrist.  From  the  forward  part  of  the  deck,  where  the 
skippers  and  mates  were  sitting  in  a  party  of  their  own, 
could  be  heard  the  tinkle  of  a  guitar  and  the  sound 
of  a  voice  singing. 

"One  always  enjoys,"  said  Mr.  Punch,  "a  bit  of 
singing  by  moonlight  on  the  water.  HI  remember  when 
I  was  a  lad — " 

"Why  don't  you  sing  for  us  yourself?"  said  Toby. 

"Oh,  do!"  cried  several  of  the  others.* 

Mr.  Punch  looked  down  at  the  deck  bashfully.  "Hi 
should  be  wery  glad  to  oblige,"  said  he,  "but  I  'ave  a 
slight  cold,  and  besides.  Hi  only  know  one  song." 

"What  is  the  name  of  It?"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"Kathleen  Mavourneen,"  said  Mr.  Punch. 

"That's  a  very  good  song,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 
"Sing   it." 

"Wait  a  minute,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen,  "and  I'll  get  the 
guitar.     I  can  play  it." 

93 


94  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

While  he  was  gone,  and  while  the  others  were 
talking,  Freddie  felt  a  hand  on  his  arm,  and  looking 
down  saw  the  Cabin-boy  sitting  on  the  deck  beside 
his  chair,  and  winking  up  at  him  with  a  strange  excited 
look  on  his  face.  The  Cabin-boy  pulled  Freddie's  head 
down,  and  whispered  in  his  ear. 

"S-s-s-sh!  K-k-keep  your  eyes  o-o-ope-open!  Some- 
thing's going  to  happen  to-to-tonight !  You'll  see! 
Down  with  M-m-mizzen  and  M-m-marmaduke !" 

Freddie  gazed  at  the  Cabin-boy  in  some  alarm,  and 
was  about  to  ask  a  question,  when  Mr.  Mizzen  re- 
turned with  the  guitar. 

"Now  we're  ready,"  said  he,  taking  his  seat  and  put- 
ting Marmaduke  on  the  rail  of  the  ship.  "Here's  the 
chord.     All  right,  Mr.  Punch." 

"HI  really  'ave  such  a  cold — "  said  Mr.  Punch. 

"That's  understood,"  said  Toby.  "Now  then,  strike 
up." 

Mr.  Punch  cleared  his  throat  very  loud,  and  coughed 
once  or  twice,  and  began  to  sing: 

"Kathleen  Mavourneen,  the  gr'y  dorn  is  bryking, 
The  'orn  of  the  'unter  is  'card  on  the  'ill." 

"Ha  !  ha  !  ha  !  ha  !"  roared  Toby.  "The  'orn  of  the 
'unter!  Blamed  if  I  ever  hear  the  like  of  that  before! 
My  stars!  What's  the  matter,  Mr.  Punch,  can't  you 
put  in  a  little  'h'  now  and  then?  The  'orn  of  the 
'unter!    Oh  my  stars  !    Ha  !  ha  !  ha  !  ha  !" 

Mr.  Punch  was  deeply  offended.  "Hit  is  quite  suf- 
ficient," said  he.  "Hi  shall  sing  no  more."  And  noth- 
ing that  anybody  could  say  could  induce  him  to  go  on. 

"Toby  Littleback,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "it's  just 
like  you,  all  over.  Now  you  ask  Mr.  Punch's  pardon, 
right  this  minute." 

Toby  apologized,  and  Mr.  Punch  said  that  it  was  of 
no  consequence  whatever;  but  he  would  not  sing. 


THE  CABIN-BOY'S  REVENGE  95 

"Then  I  guess  you'll  have  to  sing  for  us  yourself, 
Mizzen,"  said  Toby. 

*'Right-o,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen,  thrumming  on  his  gui- 
tar.    "What'll  it  be?" 

The  Cabin-boy  sniffed  and  spoke  in  an  undertone 
close  to  Freddie's  ear. 

"He'll  be  s-s-smging  on  the  other  s-s-side  of  his 
f-f-face  before  this  night's  o-o-over,  you  mark  m-m-m- 
my  wo-wo-words !" 

"Lady  and  gentlemen" — began  Mr.  Mizzen. 

"Ker-choo  !"  sneezed  the  parrot.  "A  wet  sh-sh-sheet 
and  a  f-f-flowing  s-s-s-sea !  Three  cheers  f-f-f  or  the — 
Ker-choo!     Three  cheers  f-f-for  hay  f-f-fe-fever !" 

"Down  with  b-b-b-both  of  'em!"  whispered  the 
Cabin-boy  fiercely  in  Freddie's  ear. 

"Suppose  you  sing  us  something  about  yourself," 
said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"Ay,  ay,  ma'am,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen;  and  after  play- 
ing a  few  chords  and  quivers  on  the  guitar,  he  began 
to  sing,  in  a  voice  like  a  fog-horn  muffled  by  a  heavy 
fog,  the  following  song  concerning  the 

LIFE  AND  ADVENTURES  OF  L.  MIZZEN 

"When  I  was  a  lad  I  was  bad  as  I  could  be, 
Wouldn't  say  'Thank  you'  nor  'Please,'  not  me, 
And  at  church  I  wouldn't  kneel  but  only  on  one 

knee. 
And  at  school  I  wouldn't  study  my  ABC, 
And  1  couldn't  conscientious  with  the  Golden  Rule 

agree. 
Nor  understand  the  secret  of  its  popularitee, 
Nor  get  a  ounce  of  pleasure  from  the  Rule  of 

Three, — 
I  was  bad  right  through;  sweared  'hully  gee,' 
And  worse  sometimes,  like  'jiminee;' 
Scrawled  with  a  pencil  on  my  jographee. 


96  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Stole  birds'  eggs  In  the  huckleberry  tree, — 

Oh,  I  was  bad;  tried  to  learn  a  flea 

How  to  keep  his  balance  on  a  rolling  pea, — 

Oh,  regular  bad;  and  my  ma,  said  she, 

'If  you  don't  be  better  than  what  you  be, 

I'll  put  you  in  the  cupboard  and  turn  the  key.' 

But  I  wouldn't  and  I  wouldn't,  no  sirree, 

So  I  ran  away  to  sea; 
Yes,  I  ran  away  to  sea; 

With  a  little  gingham,  bottle  of  cambric  tea, 
And  a  penny  wrapped  up  in  my  hankerchee, 

For  I  wanted  to  be  free. 
So  I  ran  away  to  sea." 

Mr.  Mizzen  stopped,  and  looked  towards  the  stern 
of  the  ship.  "I  thought,"  said  he,  "I  kind  of  noticed 
something  queer  about  the  stern  rail;  looked  as  if  it 
was  lower.     But  I  guess  I'm  mistaken." 

Everyone  looked,  but  saw  nothing  amiss.  The 
Cabin-boy  tittered  into  Freddie's  ear. 

"Would  you  like  to  hear  the  second  verse?"  said  the 
Able  Seaman. 

"Yes,  yes!     Go  on!"  said  several  voices  at  once. 

"Here  goes,  then,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen,  thrumming 
on  the  guitar.  "After  I  ran  away  to  sea,  I  had  a  good 
many  adventures,  and  some  of  'em — anyway — 

"When  I  was  young  I  followed  the  Equator 
From  Pole  to  Pole  in  the  ship  Perambulator, 
A  four-wheeled  schooner,  a  smoky  old  freighter. 
Loaded  with  sulphur  for  an  old  dead  crater 
In  the  Andes  Mountains,  and  a  night  or  two  later 
With  a  three-knot  gale  blowing  loud  and  rude 
As  the  dark  grows  darker  and  the  gale  In- 
creases 


THE  CABIN-BOY'S  REVENGE  97 

Of  a  sudden  we  strike  and  we  goes  all  to 
pieces 
On  the  forty-seventh  parallel  of  latitude. 
And  then  and  there  we  formed  a  committee 
And  went  in  a  body  up  to  London  City 

And  walked  up  the  steps  and  pulled  the  little 
bell, 
And  spoke  out  bold  to  the  Lords  of  Creation 
Where  they  sat  in  their  wigs  making  rules  of  navi- 
gation, 
And  explained  to  'em  the  dangers  of  the  Deadly 
Parallel. 
*Take  'em  down  and  pull  'em  in,' 
That's  the  way  we  did  begin: 
'  'Tisn't  leaks  nor  'tisn't  whiskey 
Makes  the  sailor's  life  so  risky. 
It's  the  parallel  as  lies  acrost  our  track. 
It's  the  Deadly  Parallel,  lying  there  so  long  and 
black. 
Is  the  subject  of  our  moderate  petition; 
'Tisn't  much  that  we  are  wishin', 
But  we  humbly  beg  permission 
To  implore, — 
Coil  'em  up,  we  implore,  where  they  won't  be  in 

the  way, 
Out  of  sight,  safe  ashore,  we  humbly  pray; 
For  there's  many  a  tidy  bark 
Strikes  against  'em  in  the  dark 
And  is  never  never  heard  of  any  more. 
So  we'll  thank  you  heartilee 
If  so  very  kind  you'll  be 
And  remove  this  awful  danger  from  the  sea.' 
But  we  couldn't  make  'em  do  it; 
No,  they  simply  wouldn't  do  it; 
And  the  bailiff  shoved  us  gently  from  the  door. 
And  we  wept  uncommon  salty, 


98  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

For  their  reason  did  seem  faulty, 
Any  way  that  we  could  view  it: 

And  the   reason  which  they  gave  us 
Why  they  really  couldn't  save  us 

Was  because  the  thing  had  ne'er  been  done  before ; 

No,  such  a  thing  had  ne'er  been  done  before." 

Mr,  MIzzen  stopped  again,  and  looked  along  the 
deck  and  up  at  the  masts,  and  said,  "I  can't  get  It  out 
of  rny  head  that  the  deck  is  slanting  a  little  more  than 
usual;  the  ship  doesn't  seem  to  come  up  well  at  the 
stern.  However, — would  you  like  to  hear  any  more  of 
this  song?" 

Everybody  begged  him  to  go  on. 

The  Cabin-boy  plucked  Freddie's  sleeve.  "I've  done 
it.  You'll  s-s-s-see !  Won't  that  M-m-marmaduke  and 
that  M-m-m-mlzzen  sing  another  tune  when  they  f-f-f- 
fmd  out?"  Freddie  looked  at  him  In  amazement;  but 
the  Able  Seaman  was  commencing  the  third  verse  of 
his  song: 

*'When  I  was  older,  and  bold  as  you  please, 
I  shipped  on  the  good  ship  Firkin  of  Cheese, 
For  a  v'yage  of  discovery  In  the  far  South  Seas, 
To  gather  up  a  cargo  of  ambergris 
That  grows  in  a  cave  on  the  amber  trees 
Where  the  medicine  men,  all  fine  M.  D.'s, 
For  the  sake  of  the  usual  medical  fees. 
Crawl  in  by  night  on  their  hands  and  knees 
In  a  strictly  ethical  manner  to  seize 
The  amber  fruit  that  is  used  to  grease 
The  Itching  palm  In  Shekel's  Disease, — 
On  a  long  long  v'yage,  as  busy  as  bees, 
Never  stopping  for  a  moment  to  take  our  ease. 
Never  changing  our  course,  except  when  the  breeze 
Took  to  blowing  to  windward, — we  had  slipped 
by  degrees 


THE  CABIN-BOY'S  REVENGE  99 

Down  the  oozy  slopes  of  the  Hebrides, 

And  passed  through  the  locks  of  the  Florida  Keys, 

Which   in  getting   through   was   a    rather    tight 

squeeze, 
But  danger  is  nothing  to  men  like  these, 
When  suddenly  the  lookout,  a  Portuguese 
Who  had  better  been  below  a-shelling  peas, 
Shrieked  out,  'They  are  coming!     By  twos  and 

threes ! 
On  the  starboard  bow!    We  are  lost! — " 

"We're  lost!  we're  lost!  we're  lost!"  came  a  terrible 
cry  from  the  forward  part  of  the  ship,  as  if  in  echo  of 
Mr.  Mizzen's  song.  "We're  lost!  The  dippers!  The 
dippers!" 

Everyone  jumped  up,  even  Aunt  Amanda.  The 
Cabin-boy  whispered  in  Freddie's  ear,  in  great  excite- 
ment, "N-n-n-now  you'll  s-see!" 

A  man  came  running  down  the  deck,  followed  by  all 
the  skippers  and  mates.  As  he  halted  before  Mr.  Miz- 
zen,  he  was  evidently  the  Cook,  by  the  white  cook's 
cap  he  wore  on  his  head.  He  took  off  his  cap  and 
wiped  his  forehead  with  his  hand.  He  was  in  a  state 
of  mixed  alarm  and  anger. 

"We're  lost!"  he  cried,  and  actually  tore  his  hair 
with  his  hands.  "It's  that  rascally  Cabin-boy!  The 
dippers  is  gone!  Every  last  one  of  them!  And  the 
ship  leakln'  by  the  barrelful !  Let  me  get  at  that 
boy  once,  and  I'll  learn  him !  Fryin'  on  a  slow  fire 
would  be  too  good  for  him !  Swore  he'd  get  even,  he 
did,  and  now  he's  gone  and  done  it!  Stole  all  the 
dippers — he's  the  one  that  done  it,  you  can  bet  your  last 
biscuit!  There  ain't  a  dipper  left  in  the  ship,  and  the 
water  pourin'  in  by  the  barrelful !  I  just  found  it  out, 
while  them  lazy  skippers  and  mates  was  lying  around 
doing  nothing!     Gimme  one  sea-cook  for  all  the  skip- 


100  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

pers  on  the  ocean,  that's  what  I  say!  Ever7  last 
dipper  gone  !  gone  !    We're  lost!" 

Everyone  looked  around  for  the  Cabin-boy.  He 
was  nowhere  to  be  seen,  but  his  laugh  was  heard 
overhead,  and  his  face  was  then  seen  looking  down 
from  the  rigging  just  above. 

"I've  d-d-d-done  it,"  he  cried,  shrieking  with  laugh- 
ter. "I'm  even  with  you  n-n-n-n-now!  M-m-m-m-miz- 
zen  he  1-1-1-learned  the  parrot  to  m-m-m-mock  me,  he 
did,  and  Cook  he  b-b-b-basted  me  In  the  g-g-g-galley 
all  the  t-t-t-t-time,  and  now  I'm  e-e-e-even  with  all  of 
'em.  They  ain't  g-g-g-going  to  t-t-t-torment  me  no 
m-m-m-m-more  !  I  stole  the  dippers  and  th-th-th-threw 
'em  overboard,  every  last  one  of  'em,  and  n-n-n-now 
you're  g-g-g-goIng  to  s-s-sink,  sink,  si-\-i-ink,  d-d-d-down, 
down,  d-d-d-down,  to  the  bottom  of  the — bottom  of 
the  s-s-s-seaf* 

He  laughed  louder  than  before,  and  the  angry  Cook 
sprang  forward  to  climb  up  after  him,  but  just  then 
the  ship  gave  a  violent  lurch  backwards,  nearly  upset- 
ting everyone,  and  settled  down  by  the  stern,  so  that 
that  end  of  the  boat  was  completely  under  water. 

Aunt  Amanda  screamed.  Toby  and  Mr.  Punch 
came  to  her  at  once  and  supported  her  on  each  side. 
There  was  a  great  hubbub.  Everyone  tried  to  speak 
at  once.  Freddie  felt  his  hand  grasped  in  the  strong 
hand  of  Mr.  Toby,  and  he  began  to  feel  somewhat 
less  afraid.  Over  the  hubbub  could  be  heard  the  Cabin- 
boy's  wild  laugh. 

"Everybody  quiet!"  shouted  Mr.  MIzzen.  "We 
must  think  what  we  had  better  do." 

"Yes,  yes,"  cried  a  number  of  voices.  "What  are 
we  going  to  do?" 

"I  wish,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen,  thoughtfully,  "I  wish 
we  had  thought  to  bring  a  rowboat  with  us." 

"What!"  cried  Aunt  Amanda.    "Do  you  mean  to  tell 


THE  CABIN-BOY'S  REVENGE  loi 

me  that  you  came  away  on  this  long  journey  without 
an  extra  boat?" 

"We  didn't  think  of  it,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen.  "We 
had  plenty  of  dippers,  and  we  never  thought  of  any- 
body's throwing  them  overboard." 

"No!  noV^  cried  all  the  skippers  and  mates  togeth- 
er.    "We  never  thought  of  that!" 

"Then  bring  out  the  life-preservers  at  once!"  said 
Aunt  Amanda.     "And  be  quick  about  it!" 

"We  haven't  any,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen.  "What  would 
have  been  the  use  of  life-preservers  if  the  dippers  were 
all  on  board?  We  never  thought  we  would  need 
them." 

"No!  no!"  cried  all  the  skippers  and  mates  together. 
"We  never  thought  of  that!" 

"Then  think  of  something  now,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 
"Don't  you  see  the  ship's  settling  deeper  in  the  water?" 

The  ship  was  In  fact  deeper  in  the  water.  It  was 
sinking  rapidly.  The  deck  began  to  list  so  much  to- 
wards the  stern  that  it  was  difficult  to  stand  on  it.  The 
ship  was  making  no  headway  whatever.  The  breeze 
was  even  lighter  than  before,  and  the  sails  were  hang- 
ing limp.  It  would  have  taken  a  stiff  wind  indeed  to 
have  moved  that  water-logged  boat;  and  it  lay  as  if 
moored  to  a  float,  going  up  and  down  heavily  in  the 
long  swell. 

"Do  you — er — think,"  said  the  Old  Codger  with 
the  Wooden  Leg,  "that  we  are  in— er — danger?" 

"Danger!"  cried  Aunt  Amanda.  "Something  must 
be  done !  Are  you  going  to  let  us  drown  without  turn- 
ing a  hand?" 

"There's  only  one  thing  to  do,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen, 
"and  I  don't  know  whether  it  will  work  or  not;  but 
we  can  try  it.  Boys,  bring  up  all  the  mattresses  from 
the  cabins,  and  a  coil  of  rope !   Look  alive,  now!" 

The  skippers  and  mates  ran  off  in  great  haste  and 


102  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

disappeared  down  the  hatchways.  In  a  few  minutes 
they  had  laid  on  the  deck  a  great  pile  of  mattresses. 
While  this  was  being  done,  Aunt  Amanda,  whose  bon- 
net and  shawl  had  been  brought  to  her  by  one  of  the 
men,  tied  her  bonnet-strings  under  her  chin  and  put  her 
shawl  about  her  shoulders,  in  readiness  for  departure. 

"Now  then,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen,  "lash  the  mattresses 
together." 

The  men  proved  themselves  very  handy  with  ropes. 
With  Mr.  Mizzen's  help,  they  lashed  together  securely 
a  good  number  of  the  mattresses,  and  the  first  result 
of  their  work  was  a  mattress  raft  some  fifteen  feet 
square,  and  some  four  or  five  feet  thick.  A  supply 
of  oil-cloth  was  found  in  the  store-room,  and  this  was 
bound  by  ropes  all  over  and  under  and  around  the  raft. 

"I  don't  know  whether  it  will  do,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen, 
"but  anyway  there's  nothing  else  that  will  do.  Now, 
lads,  over  the  side  with  her!" 

All  the  men  lent  a  hand,  and  the  mattress  raft  was 
hoisted  over  the  side  and  on  to  the  water.  To  the  sat- 
isfaction of  everyone,  it  floated  there  quietly  and  eas- 
ily, with  its  top  well  above  the  surface  of  the  sea. 

"Lucky  it's  a  smooth  sea,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen.  "We 
ought  to  be  pleased  with  the  state  of  the  weather; 
couldn't  be  better;  I  feel  quite  joyful  about  it." 

"Oh,  you  do,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Well,  I  don't 
feel  joyful  about  It.    What  next?" 

"Put  the  provisions  aboard,"  said  the  Able  Seaman; 
whereupon  some  of  the  men  placed  on  the  raft  a  small 
barrel  of  water  and  some  tins  of  meat,  soup,  biscuit, 
and  other  things. 

"If  you  please,"  said  Mr.  Mizzen,  when  this  had 
been  done,  "I  think  the  passengers  had  better  get 
aboard.  When  you're  aboard,  we'll  make  another  raft 
for  ourselves.    Are  you  ready?" 

The  passengers  were  helped  aboard  the  raft,  one 


THE  CABIN-BOY'S  REVENGE  103 

after  another.  Although  the  raft  bobbed  up  and  down 
on  the  swell,  It  was  not  a  difficult  matter  for  the  men 
and  the  boy  to  get  on,  for  it  was  held  fast  against  the 
side  of  the  ship  at  a  point  where  it  was  about  even 
with  the  deck-rail.  Freddie  gave  a  good  spring,  and 
Vv^as,  on  in  no  time;  Mr.  Hanlon,  who  did  not  seem 
in  the  least  uneasy,  got  aboard  with  the  agility  of  a 
cat;  there  was  no  trouble  with  anyone  except  Aunt 
Amanda,  whose  lameness  impeded  her  movements  a 
good  deal. 

As  the  Sly  Old  Fox,  with  his  high  silk  hat  on  his 
head,  was  about  to  step  over  the  side,  he  turned  and 
said: 

**I  feel  it  my  duty,  Mr.  Mizzen,  to  register  a  com- 
plaint against  the  outrageous  treatment  to  which  we 
are  being  subjected.  I  submit  under  protest,  sir;  under 
protest.     If  I  had  for  one  moment  imagined — " 

"Oh  bosh,"  said  Toby.  *'Push  him  over,  Mizzen." 
And  the  Siy  Old  Fox  was  In  fact  somewhat  rudely 
pushed  over  on  to  the  raft. 

None  of  the  others  made  any  objection.  Mr.  Punch, 
who  usually  talked  a  good  deal,  was  noticeably  silent; 
and  when  Toby  offered  him  a  hand  to  help  him  over, 
he  said  stiffly: 

"Hi  thank  you  sir,  but  I  do  not  require  any  hasslst- 
ance." 

When  the  Churchwarden  took  his  seat  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  raft,  it  went  down  alarmingly;  but  nothing 
happened,  and  when  the  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden 
Leg  was  aboard,  the  party  was  complete.  All  the 
others  sat  around  the  Churchwarden,  as  close  as  they 
could  huddle.  It  was  evident  that  the  raft  would  float 
them,  at  least  until  it  should  become  water-logged,  or 
a  gale  of  wind  should  blow.  The  men  on  the  ship 
now  let  go  of  the  raft,  and  proceeded  to  lash  together 


104  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

the  remaining  mattresses  for  themselves.  The  raft 
floated  quietly  away  from  the  ship. 

Aunt  Amanda's  arm  was  about  Freddie.  He  did 
not  feel,  however,  that  he  needed  her  protection.  He 
had  already  forgotten  his  first  alarm,  and  he  was  feel- 
ing most  of  all  what  an  extraordinary  adventure  it 
was  that  had  befallen  him;  the  men  from  the  ship 
would  be  nearby  on  the  other  rafts,  the  sea  was  calm, 
the  air  was  warm,  and  they  would  probably  be  picked 
up  by  some  vessel  before  the  food  gave  out.  He  sup- 
posed there  were  very  few  boys  who  had  ever  sailed 
the  open  sea  on  a  mattress. 

"Well,  Freddie,"  said  Mr.  Toby,  as  the  raft  con- 
tinued to  float  slowly  away  from  the  ship,  "what  do 
you  think  of  this,  eh?  Have  you  got  the  map  of  Cor- 
rection Island  with  you?" 

"Yes,  sir,  I  have.     It's  in  my  pocket." 

"Good !  Don't  lose  it.  We  may  get  to  the  Island 
after  all,  some  day;  you  never  can  tell.  By  the  way, 
Warden,  have  you   got  your  Odour  of  Sanctity?" 

"Safe  in  my  pocket,"  said  the  Churchwarden.  "What 
about  you?    Have  you  got  the  Chinaman's  head?" 

"What?  Me?  The  Chinaman's  head?  Oh  merciful 
fathers!  I  clean  forgot  it!"  cried  Toby.  "Blamed  if 
I  didn't  leave  it  In  my  room  on  the  ship !  Never 
thought  about  it  once  !  If  that  don't  beat  all !  What'll 
we  do?  We  can't  get  back!  We're  floating  away! 
Great  jumping  Joan!     What'll  we  do?" 

"Well!"  gasped  Aunt  Amanda.  "Won't  you  never 
get  a  head  on  your  shoulders,  you  Toby  Littleback? 
Can't  you  never  remember  anything?  I  declare.  Toby 
Littleback,  you  are  the  most  addlepated,  exasperat- 
ing,—  Oh  dear,  we'd  better  hail  the  ship,  quick!" 

The  party  on  the  raft  set  up  a  loud  cry,  which  was 
answered  from  the  ship. 

"The  Chinaman's  head!"  shouted  Toby.      "On  the 


THE  CABIN-BOY'S  REVENGE  105 

dresser  in  my  cabin!  I  forgot  it!  Run  and  get  it! 
Quick!     We're  floating  away!" 

"Ay,  ay,  sir!"  came  a  voice  from  the  ship. 

The  company  on  the  raft  waited  anxiously.  In  a 
very  few  moments,  which  seemed  like  a  great  many, 
a  hail  came  from  the  side  of  the  ship,  and  they  could 
see  the  Cabin-boy  standing  at  a  point  of  the  deck 
where  It  was  now  sloped  high  out  of  the  water,  and 
he  was  holding  the  Chinaman's  head  aloft  in  both 
hands,  as  if  about  to  throw  it  towards  the  raft. 

"Don't  throw  it!"  shouted  Toby.  "Tie  a  rope  tO' 
it  first!" 

But  he  was  too  late.  The  Cabin-boy  raised  the 
Chinaman's  head  higher,  swinging  his  body  sideways, 
and  as  a  dark  figure  came  up  behind  him  and  tried 
to  seize  his  arm,  he  gave  a  mighty  heave  and  toss,  and 
sent  the  Chinaman's  head  flying  through  the  air  in  the 
direction   of  the   raft. 

For  a  second  it  glistened  in  the  moonlight.  In  an- 
other second  it  descended  towards  the  raft,  and  almost 
reached  it;  but  not  quite;  It  came  down  within  five 
feet  of  it,  and  fell  like  a  shot  plump  Into  the  ocean. 
It  splashed,  and  that  was  all.  The  Chinaman's  head 
was  gone. 

A  wail  went  up  from  the  company  on  the  raft  at 
this  terrible  disaster.  How  terrible  It  really  was  they 
did  not  even  yet  understand,  but  they  were  soon  to 
learn.  Freddie  was  almost  ready  to  burst  into  tears. 
Aunt  Amanda  was  so  exasperated  that  she  could  scarce- 
ly speak.     The  others  seemed  to  be  stupefied. 

"Oh!  oh!  oh!"  cried  Aunt  Amanda.  "You  Toby, 
you !  Now  you've  done  it  for  good.  Why,  why,  why 
can't  you  never  remember  anything?  It's  your  fault, 
and  don't  you  never  try  to  lay  it  to  .that  Cabin-boy! 
And  now  what'll  we  do  if  we  ever  get  separated  from 
Mr.  MIzzen?     How'll  we  ever  call  him  up  to  help 


io6  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

us  out  of  trouble  if  v/e  get  into  it?  Here's  a  pretty 
kettle  of  fish,  now  ain't  it?  I  hope  and  pray  we  can 
stick  close  to  Mr.  Mizzen  until  we're  all  safe  and — " 

"Look  there!"  cried  Mr.  Punch.  "Bless  me  heyes, 
what  do  I  see?    Look  at  the  ship!" 

It  was  high  time  to  look  at  the  ship.  No  sooner 
had  the  Chinaman's  head  disappeared  into  the  depths 
of  the  ocean,  than  a  change  began  to  come  over  the 
ship.  It  grew  paler  and  thinner  in  the  moonlight.  The 
green  shutters  along  the  side  faded  away  one  by  one. 
The  dark  hull  became  lighter;  the  sails  grew  so  thin 
that  at  last  the  watchers  could  see  the  stars  shining 
through  them.  The  whole  ship  seemed  to  waver  and 
dissolve  into  a  pale  mist.  It  did  not  sink;  no.  the  bow 
was  still  high  out  of  the  water,  and  all  the  masts 
and  sails  were  visible.  It  simply  faded  away  where  it 
stood. 

As  it  was  becoming  more  and  more  vague,  the  voice 
of  Marmaduke  the  parrot  came  across  the  water  out 
of  the  rigging;  a  far-away  voice,  which  grew  fainter 
and  fainter  as  the  ship  grew  dimmer,  until  it  died  away 
as  if  in  the  distance. 

"Th-th-th-three  ch-ch-cheers !"  it  said.  _  "Th-th-th- 
three  ch-ch-cheers  for  1-1-1-1-liver  and  onions — th-th- 
three  ch-ch-cheers — 1-1-1-liver — and — " 

As  Marmaduke's  voice  died  away,  the  ship  dis- 
solved like  a  pale  ghost  and  vanished.  The  Sieve 
was  gone. 

The  party  of  adventurers  sat  on  their  mattress  raft 
in  the  midst  of  the  wide  ocean,  with  never  a  ship  to 
be  seen;  the  long  sea-swell  rolled  placidly  over  the 
place  where  their  ship  had  been.  They  sat  huddled 
together  in  silence  around  the  Churchwarden,  too  hor- 
rified to  speak  a  word. 

The  moon  glistened  on  the  Sly  Old  Codger's  high 
silk  hat. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  MATTRESSES 

"X  WISH,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "that  I  had  brought 

I  some  sewing  with  me.  I  don't  suppose  I  could 
"*"  sew  very  well  by  moonlight  on  a  mattress  in 
the  middle  of  the  ocean,  but  I  don't  believe  this  would 
have  happened  if  I'd  had  my  sewing  with  me." 

"Hi  carn't  see  'ow  that  would  'ave — "  began  Mr- 
Punch. 

"Now  look  here,"  said  Toby.  "We've  got  to  sit 
in  the  middle  of  this  here  raft,  or  else  she'll  tilt  over. 
Why  don't  you  sit  in  the  middle.  Warden?" 

"I  am  sitting  in  the  middle,"  said  the  Churchwar- 
den. "I  wonder  what  the  Vestry  would  say  if  they 
could—" 

"I  wish  it  distinctly  understood,"  said  the  Sly  Old 
Fox,  "that  I  am  here  under  protest.  If  I  had  for  one 
moment  imagined — " 

"Now  listen  to  me,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "There's 
got  to  be  a  captain  of  this  expedition,  and  as  there's 
nobody  here  but  a  lot  of  helpless  men-creatures,  I 
suppose  I've  got  to  be  the  captain  myself.  All  those 
in  favor  say  aye.  I'm  elected.  That's  done.  Warden, 
sit  a  little  bit  over  to  the  right." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir;  ay,  ay,  ma'am;  certainly,"  said  the 
Warden. 

"Now  everybody  sit  up  close  to  the  Warden,"  said 
Aunt  Amanda.    "There.    Is  the  raft  balanced  now?" 

107 


io8  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"Ay,  ay,  sir,"  said  the  Churchwarden.  "I  mean, 
ay,  ay,  ma'am." 

"Then  my  orders  as  captain  is,  to  sit  still  and  see 
what's  going  to  happen," 

Nothing  happened.  Freddie  grew  sleepy,  and  leaned 
his  head  against  Aunt  Amanda's  shoulder.  As  he  was 
falling  off  to  sleep,  a  slim  dark  object  rose  from  the 
sea  near  by  and  whirred  across  the  ocean  and  plopped 
into  the  water. 

"Bless  me  heyes,"  said  Mr.  Punch,  "hit's  a  flying- 
fish,  as  ever  was." 

"Is  it,  really?"  said  Freddie.     "Did  he  really  fly?" 

"How  wonderful  is  nature!"  said  the  Sly  Old  Cod- 
ger. "Such  an  opportunity  to  improve  the  mind!  My 
little  friend,  I  trust  you  will  profit  by  what  you  have 
seen.     It  is  very  educational;  very  educational  indeed." 

"Ahem!"  said  the  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden 
Leg.  "What  do  you  suppose — er — ahem! — if  you 
will  pardon  me — what  are  those  little  things  sparkling 
out  there  on  the  surface  of  the  water?" 

"Hit's  a  school  of  sardines!"  said  Mr.  Punch.  "Hi 
know  them  wery  well;  when  I  was  a  lad — " 

"There  must  be  millions  of  them,"  said  Freddie. 
"Just  look!" 

The  tiny  fish  were  leaping  by  thousands  on  the 
surface  of  the  water,  immediately  in  the  path  of  moon- 
light; and  they  flashed  and  sparkled  as  they  leaped. 

"Hi  believe  there's  a  great  fish  arfter  them,"  said 
Mr.  Punch. 

"Maybe  a  whole  regiment  of  big  fish,"  said  Toby. 
"By  crackey,  there's  one  now!" 

As  he  spoke,  a  black  fin  cut  the  water  near  the 
sardines,  and  they  became  more  agitated  than  ever; 
from  the  size  of  the  fin,  it  must  have  been  a  very  great 
fish  indeed;  and  along  the  upper  edge  of  the  fin  was 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  MATTRESSES    109 

a  row  of  long  sharp  saw-teeth,  looking  big  and  strong 
enough  to  have  sawed  through  a  wooden  plank. 

"There's  another  one!"  cried  Freddie. 

"And  another!  and  another!"  cried  Aunt  Amanda. 

There  must  have  been  five  or  six  of  the  great  fish. 

"I  hope  they  won't  come  near  this  boat,"  said  Toby. 
"One  of  'em  would  just  about  turn  us  upside  down 
if  he  struck  us." 

"Mercy!"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Don't  say  such  a 
terrible  thing." 

At  that  moment  a  great  round  black  back  appeared 
above  the  surface  of  the  water,  some  hundred  yards 
or  so  away,  and  in  another  moment  a  great  black  blunt 
head  joined  itself  to  the  back,  and  a  spout  of  white 
vapor  rose  from  the  head. 

"A  whale !"  cried  several  voices  at  once. 

"Oh!"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Suppose  he  should 
come  this  way?" 

The  five  or  six  fins  of  the  great  fish  near  the  sar- 
dines now  disappeared.  The  whale  threw  up  his  enor- 
mous tail,  and  went  down  head  first  beneath  the  water. 
Almost  immediately,  one  of  the  saw-toothed  fins  re- 
appeared, much  nearer  the  raft  than  before. 

"Merciful  heavens !"  cried  Aunt  Amanda.  "He's 
coming  towards  us!     Oh  dear!" 

The  great  fish  was  in  fact  evidently  making  straight 
towards  the  raft.  Freddie  clutched  Aunt  Amanda's 
arm.,  The  fin  cut  the  water  at  a  high  speed;  it  dis- 
appeared at  times,  but  on  each  reappearance  it  was 
still  pointed  towards  the  raft. 

"He's  nearly  on  us!"  cried  Aunt  Amanda.  "Hold 
on  tight,  Freddie!" 

The  great  fish  came  on  with  a  rush,  and  as  he 
reached  the  raft  struck  it  with  his  back  and  slid  under 
it.    There  was  a  tremendous  bump,  which  nearly  sent 


no  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

the  company  flat;  then  there  was  a  rubbing  under  the 
raft,  and  everything  was  quiet  again. 

"He's  gone,"  said  Toby. 

"No,  'e  isn't,"  said  Mr.  Punch.    "Look  at  'Is  tail!" 

A  great  tail  could  be  seen  beyond  the  edge  of  the 
raft,  just  below  the  surface  of  the  water.  It  thrashed 
about  and  churned  up  the  water  violently  for  a  few 
seconds,  and  then  waved  back  and  forth  quietly;  but 
it  did  not  disappear. 

"By  crackey,"  said  Toby,  "he's  stuck!  His  fin  has 
got  stuck  into  the  bottom  of  the  raft!  He's  got  the 
whole  kit  and  bilin'  of  us  on  his  back!" 

"Mercy  on  us!'*'   said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"Is  it  really  true?"   said   Freddie. 

"On  due  consideration,"  said  the  Churchwarden,  "I 
think  Toby's  right." 

"Hi  believe  'e  is!"  said  Mr.  Punch.  "Blimy  If  I 
ever  rode  on  the  back  of  a  fish  before !  Now  'e's  got 
us  on  'is  back,  what's  'e  going  to  do  with  us?" 

"We're  moving!"  cried  Freddie. 

"So  we  are!"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"Blamed   if   we   aint,"   said   Toby. 

The  mattress  craft  was  in  fact  moving;  very  slowly, 
indeed,  but  still  moving;  and  it  was  moving  in  the 
opposite  direction  to  the  fish's  tail,  which  could  be  seen 
now  and  then  under  the  water,  waving  back  and  forth 
like  the  tail  of  a  swimming  fish. 

"If  this  don't  beat  all,"  said  Toby.  "That  fish  down 
there  has  certainly  got  his  fin  hooked  into  our  mat- 
tress, and  he's  swimming  along  with  us  on  top  of  him. 
I've  seen  a  snail  crawlin'  with  his  shell  on  top  of  him, 
but  a  fish  with  a  load  of  mattresses  and  live-stock  is 
a  new  thing  to  me !" 

"I'm  the  captain,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "and  my 
orders  is  to  sit  as  still  as  you  can  and  see  where  he's 
taking  us  to." 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  MATTRESSES    iii 

"Ay,  ay,  sir,"  said  the  Churchwarden.     "I  mean, 

ay,  ay,  ma'am." 

The  party  huddled  on  top  of  the  mattresses  sat 
as  still  as  mice,  hardly  daring  to  breathe.  Their  little 
craft  continued  to  move  gently  through  the  water. 
They  expected  each  moment  that  the  fish  would  free 
himself,  but  evidently  hisi  fin  had  embedded  itself  so 
firmly  in  one  of  the  bottom  mattresses  that  he  could 
not  get  loose;  he  went  on  swimming  with  his  load 
on  his  back. 

Hour  after  hour  they  waited  to  feel  their  craft  stop; 
but  hour  after  hour  it  moved  gently  and  slowly  across 
the  surface  of  the  sea.  They  settled  themselves  more 
comfortably  against  each  other,  and  spoke  very  little. 
No  one  noticed  that  their  raft  was  now  much  lower 
in  the  water. 

The  air  was  warm,  the  moonlight  and  the  silence 
were  extremely  soothing,  and  the  motion  of  the  raft 
was  gentle  and  languorous.  Freddie's  head  sank 
against  Aunt  Amanda's  shoulder,  and  his  eyes  closed; 
and  in  another  moment  he  was  asleep.  Aunt  Amanda 
herself  nodded,  and  her  eyesi  closed;  she  was  asleep 
too.  Toby  yawned,  and  leaned  heavily  against  the  Sly 
Old  Codger;  his  eyes  closed,  and — in  short,  every  eye 
closed,  and  every  frame  relaxed  heavily  against  its 
neighbor,  and  at  last,  doubled  over  in  a  closely  hud- 
dled group  in  the  exact  center  of  their  mattresses,  the 
whole  party  slept;  each  and  every  one. 

The  raft  went  on  steadily  and  quietly  through  the 
water,  the  moon  glittered  on  the  sea,  the  raft  settled 
deeper  and  deeper,  and  there  was  absolute  silence  on 
the  ocean,  except  for  a  slight  groan  which  came  reg- 
ularly and  gently  from  the  nose  of  the  Churchwarden. 


CHAPTER  XV 


A     FALL    IN    THE    DARK 


REDDIE  was  the  first  to  be  awake  in  the 
morning.  He  was  cramped  and  stiff.  He 
sat  up  straight,  rubbed  his  eyes,  and  stretched 
his  arms.  He  looked  abroad,  and  the  sight  which 
met  him  caused  him  to  grasp  Aunt  Amanda's  hand 
in  excitement, 

"Land!"  he  cried,  so  loud  that  everyone  awoke. 

"Blamed  if  it  ain't,"  said  Toby,  and  put  on  his 
white  derby  hat,  considering  that  he  had  thereby 
dressed  himself  for  the  day. 

All  the  others  sat  bolt  upright,  and  stared  across 
the  smooth  blue  sea,  sparkling  in  the  sunlight. 

Not  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  rose  a 
tall  black  cliff  straight  up  out  of  the  water.  It  stretched 
away  on  either  hand  for  miles  and  miles,  and  came 
to  an  end  in  the  ocean  at  the  right  hand  and  the  left, 
so  that  it  was  probably  the  side  of  an  Island.  The 
sea  rolled  up  and  down  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff,  making 
a  beautiful  white  splash  against  the  rocks. 

"But  how  on  earth,"  saidi  Aunt  Amanda,  "are  we 
ever  to  get  ashore  on  such  a  place  as  that?" 

"We're  moving  towards  it,"  said  Freddie. 

"Blamed  if  we  ain't,"  said  Toby.  "We'll  soon  know 
whether  we  can  get  ashore  or  not." 

They  moved  very  slowly,  and  it  was  a  long  time 
before  they  came  close  enough  to  the  cliff  to  see  what 
their  chances  of  a  landing  might  be.  They  floated  at 
last  within  two  or  three  hundred  yards  of  the  cliff. 

112 


A  FALL  IN  THE  DARK  1 1 3 

It  was  very  dangerous  looking;  the  waves  rolled  over 
huge  black  rocks  at  its  foot  and  broke  in  white  foam 
against  its  side;  it  seemed  the  last  place  in  the  world 
for  a  landing. 

A  great  swell  rolled  in  from  the  sea  and  brought 
them  nearer  the  breakers, 

"My  word!"  cried  Mr.  Punch,  excitedly.  "There's 
a  harch!" 

"A  what?"  said  Toby. 

"See!"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "There's  a  little  arch- 
way in  the  rock,  like  the  mouth  of  a  cave,  over  there 
to  the  right!  Don't  you  see?  With  the  water  pour- 
ing in !     Over  there  !" 

It  was  true.  There  was  an  archway,  like  the  mouth 
of  a  cave;  and  into  this  the  water  was  streaming  in  a 
strong  current,  making  a  kind  of  passage-way,  more 
or  less  smooth,  through  the  breakers. 

"Yes!"  said  Freddie.  "And  I  believe  we're  headed 
towards  it!" 

Their  course  changed  a  little  to  the  right,  as  if  the 
fish  who  was  piloting  them  had  now  taken  a  correct 
bearing.  They  found  themselves  in  a  passage  through 
the  breakers  where  the  water  swirled  in  towards  the 
arch.  They  were  caught  in  this  current  and  were  swept 
to  a  point  close  under  the  towering  black  rocks,  and 
In  another  moment  they  were  directly  before  the  open- 
ing. The  current  seized  the  raft  as  if  with  strong 
hands  and  drew  it  In. 

They  were  in  a  cavern,  narrow  and  high,  whose  in- 
terior was  lost  in  darkness.  The  current  carried  them 
onward  into  the  dark.  The  roar  of  the  breakers 
suddenly  ceased,  and  as  they  looked  behind  them  the 
archway  was  no  more  than  a  speck  of  light.  Their 
raft  turned  slightly  to  the  left,  and  at  that  moment 
the  speck  of  light  disappeared,  as  if  they  had  turned 


114  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

a  corner;  and  the  darkness  became  so  black  that  no 
one  could  see  even  the  person  sitting  next  to  him. 

"I  wonder,"  said  Toby,  "if  there  are  any  matches 
and  candles  on  board  this  boat.    I'm  going  to  see." 

He  was  silent  for  a  while,  and  it  was  evident  from 
the  tilting  of  the  raft  that  he  had  moved  his  position. 
Finally  he  said  "Ah!"  and  a  match  spluttered  and 
went  out  in  the  breeze  which  was  blowing  past  them; 
but  after  it  went  out  there  remained  a  glimmer,  and 
Toby  was  holding  up  a  lighted  candle,  and  shielding  it 
from  the  draught  with  his  hand. 

"Found  'em  in  the  tin  with  the  biscuits,"  said  Toby. 

He  held  the  candle  on  high  so  that  its  little  beam 
searched  out  the  darkness  in  front  and  on  both  sides. 

They  were  in  a  narrow  passage-way.  On  each  side 
was  a  wall  of  solid  rock,  not  ten  feet  beyond  the  edge 
of  the  raft.  How  high  the  wall  was  they  could  not 
tell,  for  it  was  lost  in  the  darkness  overhead.  They 
were  slipping  along  a  narrow  alley-way  of  water. 
Toby  held  the  candle  higher,  and  everyone  peered  Into 
the  darkness  ahead;  but  it  was  Impossible  to  see  more 
than   a   few  yards. 

"I  wish  It  distinctly  understood,"  said  the  Sly  Old 
Codger,  "that  I  am  here  under — " 

"Never  mind,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "my  orders  as 
captain  is,  to  say  nothing  and  wait  and  see  what  will 
happen." 

The  raft  turned  a  corner  to  the  right,  and  slipped  on 
silently  in  that  direction  for  a  long  distance,  probably 
for  more  than  a  mile.  Then  the  raft  turned  again,  this 
time  to  the  left;  and  after  about  ten  minutes  longer 
Toby  suddenly  said,  "S-sh !  What's  that?"  They 
all  listened,  and  heard  afar  off  a  sound  as  of  rushing 
water,   very   faint,    but  unmistakable. 

"Er — excuse  me,"  said  the  Old  Codger  with  the 


A  FALL  IN  THE  DARK  1 1 5 

Wooden  Leg.  "Do  you  think — -ahem! — rthere  is  any — 
er — dangerT' 

"I  don't  like  it,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "I  don't 
think  it's  safe  in  here." 

"I  think  we  are  lower  in  the  water,"  said  Freddie. 

"So  we  are,"  said  Toby.  "The  water's  coming  up 
over  the  top  now,  and  if  we  don't  get  on  dry  land 
soon,  we'll  all  be  sitting  in  a  puddle." 

In  spite  of  its  being  water-logged  and  lower  in 
the  water,  the  raft  was  beginning  to  go  faster,  for  the 
current  had  suddenly  become  swifter.  The  wind  blew 
stronger;  it  swept  through  the  narrow  passage-way 
so  briskly  that  Toby  put  his  hat  over  the  candle;  but 
he  was  too  late;  the  light  wavered  and  went  out. 
A  groan  went  up  from  the  company. 

"I  can  hear  that  rushing  sound  plainer,"  said  Aunt 
Amanda. 

"Hit's  wery  like  a  water-fall,"  said  Mr.  Punch. 

"I  wish  it  understood,"  said  the  Sly  Old  Fox,  "dis- 
tinctly understood,  that  I  am  here  under  protest.  If 
I   had  eve-r   for  one  moment  imagined — " 

"0-o-oh!"  screamed  Aunt  Amanda.  "We're  going 
— faster — o-o-oh  !" 

She  threw  her  arm  around  Freddie  and  held  him 
tight.  The  current  suddenly  became  swifter;  the  raft, 
almost  under  water,  was  leaping  forward  at  a  fright- 
ful speed.  Directly  ahead  of  them,  growing  louder 
and  louder,  was  the  roar  of  rushing  water. 

"Hold — on — tight,  Freddie  !"  cried  Aunt  Amanda. 

"We'll  all  be  done  for,"  shouted  Toby,  "in  an- 
other— minute,   I   reckon, — hold — on — tight!" 

As  Toby  said  this,  the  raft  almost  galloped.  The 
roar  of  falling  water  burst  on  them  from  close  ahead. 
The  raft  seemed  to  rise  up  and  then  to  sink  down. 
Its  nose  slanted  downward.  The  roar  of  falling 
water  was  all  about  them.     Aunt  Amanda  screamed, 


ii6  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

but  no  one  could  hear  her.  The  raft  paused  and 
teetered  for  an  instant;  then  it  pointed  downward, 
almost  straight,  and  the  whole  party,  the  raft,  and 
the  fish  under  the  raft,  plunged  downward  through 
the  darkness  on  a  cascade  of  tumbling  water;  down, 
down,  down;  the  raft  shot  from  under  and  the  pas- 
sengers shot  off;  in  a  twinkling  they  were  going  down 
the  water-fall  on  their  backs.  Would  they  never 
reach  the  bottom?  There  did  not  seem  to  be  any 
bottom;  but — 

In  another  moment,  there  were  Aunt  Amanda  and 
Freddie  (her  arm  still  about  him)  standing  on  their 
feet  in  about  twenty-four  inches  of  quiet  water  on  a 
solid  bottom.  Dark  forms  appeared,  one  after  an- 
other, beside  them,  and  almost  at  once  all  the  party 
were  standing  together  in  a  group,  in  about  two  feet 
of  quiet   water,   on   a   solid  bottom. 

"I  fear,"  said  the  voice  of  the  Sly  Old  Codger, 
"that  I  have  lost  my  hat." 

They  could  see  that  they  were  in  a  great  chamber, 
whose  walls  they  could  make  out  dimly  on  each  side. 
They  could  not  see  the  top  of  the  water-fall,  but 
they  could  see  its  lower  part  very  plainly.  Through 
the  tumbling  water  of  the  fall,  near  the  bottom,  sun- 
light was  shining.  Behind  the  water  was  an  opening 
some  six  feet  high,  and  as  the  water  fell  across  this 
opening  the  sunlight  from  without  shone  through  it, 
making  it  glow  with  green  and  sparkle  with  white. 
The  water-fall  hung  over  this  opening  like  a  curtain. 

"Well,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "Tm  pretty  near 
drowned,  and  my  clothes  are  a  sight  to  behold.  But 
Tm  the  captain  of  this  expedition,  and  my  orders  is, 
that  we   go   ashore." 

The  water  proved  to  be  shallow  all  about  them,  and 
they  waded  to  a  strip  of  dry  ground  beside  the 
wall  which  rose  at  their  left  as  they  faced  the  fall. 


A  FALL  IN  THE  DARK  1 1 7 

Aunt  Amanda,  whose  cane  was  gone,  was  assisted 
by  Mr.  Toby  and  Mr.  Punch. 

"Blamed  if  my  hat  ain't  gone  too,"  said  Toby. 
"She  was  a  good  hat,  I'll  have  to  say  that  for  her." 

The  party  walked  along  the  edge  of  the  water,  and 
came  to  the  end  wall  of  the  chamber,  opposite  the 
fall.  There  lay  the  wreck  of  the  raft,  with  the  tail 
of  the  great  fish  sticking  out  from  beneath. 

"I  fear,"  said  the  Sly  Old  Codger,  "that  the  faith- 
ful creature  has  departed  this  life." 

"He's  dead  as  a   doornail,"  said  Toby. 

"Poor  thing,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Anyway,  my 
orders  is  to  explore  this  cavern,  and  see  what  we 
can  find." 

At  this  end  of  the  cavern  the  water  was  slipping 
away  under  the  wall,  and  this  outlet  explained  why 
the  water  inside  remained  so  shallow.  The  party  com- 
mented on  it,  and  then  walked  along  the  side  wall 
towards  the  other  end  where  the  fall  was.  When  they 
were  midway  along  this  wall,  a  cry  from  Toby,  who 
had  left  Aunt  Amanda  to  the  care  of  Mr.  Punch, 
startled  the  others. 

"What's  this?"   he   cried.      "Look  here!" 

He  was  stooping  over  something,  and  as  the  others 
gathered  round,  they  saw  that  he  was  stooping  over 
a  pile  of  small  square  boxes,  standing  in  several  long 
rows  along  the   wall. 

Mr.  Hanlon  lifted  one  of  the  boxes,  with  a  great 
effort,  and  shook  it.  A  jingling  sound  came  from 
within. 

"Aha!"  said  the  Sly  Old  Fox.  "That  beautiful 
music!  It  is  the  sound,  dear  friends,  the  sound  of— 
of  Money!" 

"Bless  my  soul!"   cried  Aunt  Amanda.      "Is  it?" 

"My  opinion  is,"  said  the  Churchwarden,  "that 
there  is  gold  in  that  box." 


Ti8  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"Then  open  It!"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

Mr.  Hanlon  shook  his  head.  The  box  was  locked 
tight,  and  It  was  bound  with  Iron  bands.  All  the 
boxes  were  locked,  and  they  were  all  bound  with  Iron, 
bands. 

"Come  along  this  way,"  said  Toby.  "There's 
something  more  here." 

Further  along  the  wall,  leaning  against  it,  was  a 
row  of  large  coffee-sacks,  each  bound  around  the 
mouth  by  strong  twine.  One  of  these  sacks  Mr.  Han- 
lon quickly  opened.  He  tilted  it  over  and  poured  out 
Its  contents  on  the  ground.  The  party  of  onlookers 
gasped  with  astonishment. 

From  the  mouth  of  the  bag  fell  pearl  necklaces; 
diamond  rings;  ruby  rings;  emerald  rings;  all  kinds 
of  rings;  gold  bracelets  and  chains;  silver  forks  and 
spoons;  gold  toothpicks;  gold  cups;  silver  vases;  and 
a  great  variety  of  other  things  of  the  same  sort. 

It  was  a  moment  or  two  before  anyone  spoke.  Then 
the  Churchwarden  said,  "It's  my  opinion  that  this  is 
pirates'  treasure." 

"Mercy  on  us  !"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "And  they  may 
be  In  here  on  us  any  minute!" 

Mr.  Hanlon  opened  others  of  the  bags.  Each  was 
filled  with  rare  and  costly  articles  of  gold,  silver,  and 
precious  stones. 

"Do  you  think  it's  really  pirates?"  said  Freddie,  In 
an  awed  whisper. 

"Not  a  doubt  of  it!"  said  Toby,  in  a  voice  much 
lower  than  before.     "Look  at  this !" 

He  pointed  to  a  placard  on  the  wall  above  the  sacks. 
The  light  was  almost  too  dim  for  reading,  but  the  writ- 
ing on  the  placard  was  very  large,  and  Toby,  by  stand- 
ing on  one  of  the  bags,  was  able  to  make  It  out.  He 
read  it  aloud. 


A  FALL  IN  THE  DARK  1 1 9 

"Beware  !  Hands  Off  !  Whoever  Shall  Touch 
It  He  Shall  Die  by  the  Hand  of  Lingo! 
With  a  Knife  in  the  Throat !    Long  Live 
King  James  and  the  Jolly  Roger !" 

"There  a  skull  and  cross-bones  under  it,"  said  Toby. 
"Pirates,  as  sure  as  you're  born." 

"We'd  better  be  getting  away  from  here,"  said  Aunt 
Amanda. 

"Better  not  speak  so  loud,"  said  Toby.  "How  are 
we  to ^?" 

"S-sh!"  said  the  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden  Leg, 
in  a  frightened  whisper.  "Excuse  me — look — I  saw 
something  under  the  water-fall.     What's  that?" 

"Stand  close  back  against  the  wall,"  whispered  Toby, 
"and  don't  speak  a  word." 

They  crowded  back  against  the  wall,  alongside  of 
the  treasure,  and  looked  towards  the  water-fall. 

A  dark  object  was  rising  from  the  shallow  water  at 
the  foot  of  the  fall.  As  they  watched,  another  dark 
object  appeared  to  come  through  from  under  the  fall 
and  apparently  from  behind  it;  and  this  object  rose  also 
from  the  shallow  water  near  the  foot  of  the  fall,  and 
took  its  place  beside  the  other.  One  after  another,  five 
more  of  these  dark  objects  came  from  under  the  fall 
and  apparently  from  behind  it,  and  stood  upright  in 
the  shallow  water. 

There  were  now  seven  in  all.  They  moved  In  a  group 
towards  the  shore.  Each  of  them  had  two  legs,  and 
each  was  muffled  from  top  to  toe  in  a  single  loose  gar- 
ment with,  baggy  legs;  they  walked  somewhat  like  a 
company  of  bears.  They  stood  on  the  dry  ground, 
and  one  of  them  proceeded  to  take  off  the  loose  gar- 
ment with  which  he  was  muffled,  while  the  others  as- 
sisted him  with  evident  deference. 

First  came  off  a  close  hood  which  covered  his  head, 
cheeks,  and  neck.    As  the  watchers  by  the  wall  saw  his 


120  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

head,  they  held  their  breath  in  terror,  and  Aunt 
Amanda  clutched  Freddie's  arm.  Around  the  head 
was  a  tight-fitting  kerchief,  knotted  behind;  in  his  ears 
were  great  round  ear-rings;  and  gripped  between  his 
teeth  was  a  long  pointed  knife. 

Aunt  Amanda  gave  a  sign  as  if  she  was  about  to 
scream,  but  Toby  quickly  put  his  hand  over  her  mouth. 

As  the  man  with  the  ear-rings  got  himself  out  of  the 
legs  of  his  loose  garment,  the  party  by  the  wall  saw 
that  he  was  a  short  and  burly  man,  of  a  ferocious 
aspect.  In  a  sash  which  he  wore  was  stuck  on  one  side 
a  cutlass,  and  on  the  other  a  long  pistol.  He  wore  no 
coat,  and  his  shirt  was  open  at  the  throat.  His  arms 
showed  from  the  elbows  down,  and  they  were  thick 
with  muscles.  His  trousers  were  knee  breeches,  buckled 
just  below  the  knee,  and  he  was  very  bow-legged;  his 
calves  were  big  and  knotted. 

When  his  outer  covering  had  been  removed,  it  was 
plain  that  he  was  perfectly  dry  from  head  to  foot, 
except  for  water  on  his  face  and  hands;  and  while  the 
others  were  taking  off  their  coverings,  he  withdrew 
with  one  hand  the  knife  from  between  his  teeth,  and 
with  the  other  hand  wiped  the  water  from  his  eyes  and 
face.  He  then  stuck  the  knife  in  his  sash,  waved  his 
hands  somewhat  daintily  In  the  air  as  if  to  dry  them, 
took  from  his  breeches  pocket  a  large  white  handker- 
chief, completed  with  this  handkerchief  the  drying  of 
his  face  and  hands,  examined  his  finger-nails  carefully, 
blew  on  them,  and  proceeded  to  polish  them  delicately 
with  his  pocket-handkerchief,  at  the  same  time  swearing 
two  dreadful  oaths.  In  a  low  tone  of  voice,  at  the  six 
men  who  were  struggling  with  their  coverings.  When 
these  had  been  removed,  the  six  appeared  In  much  the 
same  style  of  dress  as  the  first,  and  each  bore  a  cutlass 
and  a  pistol;  but  their  clothing  was  much  ruder  than 
his,  and  they  had  no  ear-rings;  Instead  of  sashes  they 
wore  leather  belts. 


A  FALL  IN  THE  DARK  121 

"Kerchoo!"  rang  out  a  sneeze  as  sharp  as  a  pistol- 
shot,  from  the  party  by  the  wall, 

"Dear  me,"  said  the  Sly  Old  Codger,  out  loud,  "I 
do  believe  I'm  catching  cold." 

At  the  sudden  discharge  of  the  sneeze,  the  seven  men 
jumped  as  if  they  had  in  fact  been  shot.  Each  one 
snatched  out  his  cutlass  with  his  right  hand  and  his 
pistol  with  his  left,  and  faced  in  the  direction  of  the 
sneeze. 

"Confound  your  cold,"  whispered  Toby  fiercely  to 
the  Sly  Old  Codger,  "now  we're  done  for." 

The  seven  men  with  their  cutlasses  and  pistols,  with 
the  ear-ringed  man  in  the  lead,  tiptoed  stealthily  in  the 
direction  of  the  sneeze. 

As  they  came  closer  to  the  party  who  were  crouched 
against  the  wall,  Aunt  Amanda  slipped  down  quietly 
to  the  ground  at  Toby's  feet.  The  captain  of  the  ex- 
pedition had  fainted. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

CAPTAIN  LINGO  AND  A  FINE  PIECE  OF  HEAD-WORK 

THE  MAN  with  the  ear-rings  muttered  some- 
thing in  a  fierce  undertone  to  his  six  followers. 
They  spread  out  behind  him  in  a  wide  line. 
With  a  stealthy  step  they  came  forward  noiselessly. 
The  party  by  the  wall  held  their  breath  in  terror. 
Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  seven  men,  still  in  perfect 
silence.  They  reached  the  cowering  company  by  the 
wall,  leveled  their  pistols  at  their  breasts,  held  up  their 
cutlasses  ready  to  strike,  and  looked  at  their  leader  for 
the  command  to  kill. 

At  this  moment  the  man  with  the  ear-rings  observed 
the  form  of  Aunt  Amanda  on  the  ground.  He  stooped 
down  and  examined  her,  and  stood  up  again.  Then  he 
eyed  the  company  of  travellers  with  a  hard  cold  eye, 
and  spoke  deliberately  and  in  a  low  voice.  His  manner 
of  speech  was  somewhat  stilted  and  precise,  and  scarcely 
what  might  have  been  expected  of  a  pirate. 

"The  ceremony,"  said  he,  "will  be  deferred  for  the 
moment.  I  commend  you  meanwhile  to  perfect  quiet- 
ness; one  movement,  and  the  consequences  may  be  fatal. 
A  hint  is  sufficient.  I  perceive  here  a  lady  in  distress. 
'Tis  a  monstrous  pity,  indeed.  I  regret  that  we  were 
unaware  of  the  presence  of  a  lady;  had  we  known,  we 
should  certainly  have  taken  our  measures  more  fittingly. 
I  crave  your  pardon.  No  one  has  yet  accused  Captain 
Lingo  of  rudeness  to  a  lady.  Ketch,  put  up  thy  cutlass 
and  go  straightH'ay  to  the  pool  and  wet  this  pocket- 
handkerchief.  Be  brisk,  thou  muddle-pated  son  of  a 
sea-cook!     Haste!" 

122 


A  FINE  PIFXE  OF  HEAD-WORK        1 23 

The  man  called  Ketch  jumped  as  though  he  had  been 
stung,  and  took  from  Captain  Lingo's  hand  a  fine  white 
cambric  handkerchief  which  the  captain  had  produced 
from  his  breeches  pocket,  and  running  to  the  water 
moistened  it  and  returned  in  great  haste. 

While  this  was  going  on,  the  poor  captives  were  able 
to  examine  their  chief  captor  more  carefully.  They 
remarked  with  surprise  the  fine  quality  of  the  handker- 
chief which  he  had  handed  to  his  man,  and  they  were 
even  more  surprised  to  note  the  whiteness  and  fineness 
of  the  linen  of  his  shirt.  His  breeches  were  of  blue 
velvet,  and  his  sash  and  the  kerchief  which  bound  his 
head  were  of  crimson  silk.  On  the  fingers  of  each  hand 
he  wore  three  or  four  diamond  rings,  which  sparkled 
brilliantly  in  the  half-darkness.  His  stockings  were 
plainly  of  silk,  and  the  buckles  at  his  knees  and  on  his 
shoes  were  of  polished  silver,  outlined  in  diamonds. 
His  face  was  hard  and  cruel,  but  its  unpleasantness  may 
have  been  due  to  a  long  scar  which  crossed  his  mouth 
from  his  right  cheek  to  his  chin.  When  he  smiled,  as 
he  did  in  referring  to  the  lady  in  distress,  the  scar  gave 
to  his  face  a  singularly  evil  expression. 

Taking  the  wet  handkerchief  from  Ketch's  hand,  he 
knelt  beside  Aunt  Amanda  and  bathed  her  face  and 
wrists,  slapping  her  cheeks  and  temples  smartly  now 
and  then  with  the  handkerchief,  and  changing  her  posi- 
tion so  that  her  head  lay  lower  than  her  body.  After 
he  had  worked  over  her  with  much  care  for  a  few 
moments,  Aunt  Amanda  opened  her  eves.  She  was 
staring  at  the  frightful  crooked  smile  of  a  strange  man 
with  rings  in  his  ears  and  a  kerchief  on  his  head.  She 
started  up,  bewildered. 

"Where's  Toby?    Where  am  I?    Who  are  you?" 

''Captain  Lingo,  ma'am,"  said  the  strange  man,  "at 
your  service." 

"Let  me  up,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  She  struggled  to 
her  feet,  rejecting  the  assistance  offered  by  the  ear- 


124  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

ring'd  man,  and  stood  facing  him,  her  bedraggled  bon- 
net very  much  over  her  right  ear.  "Who  are  you?" 
she  said  again. 

"Your  humble  servant,  ma'am,"  said  the  strange 
man,  smiling  his  crooked  smile.  "Captain  Lingo,  by 
name.  A  gentleman  adventurer  of  the  high  seas. 
Owner  of  the  treasure  which  you  have  discovered  here 
in  our  little  retreat.  Known  here  on  the  Spanish  Main 
as  the  Scourge  of  Ships,  and  loyal  servant  of  his  blessed 
Majesty  King  James,  whom  the  saints  defend.  Your 
obedient  humble  servant  to  command."  He  made  the 
lady  a  very  courtly  bow. 

Toby  whispered  into  Freddie's  ear.  "He  can't  be 
so  terrible  bad,  not  with  all  that  polite  way  of  talking. 
Don't  be  afraid.  We'll  be  all  right  with  this  pirate. 
Who  on  earth  Is  King  James?" 

Aunt  Amanda  was  also  much  relieved  by  the  pirate's 
polite  address. 

"As  long  as  you  are  my  obedient  servant,"  said  she, 
"Fll  thank  you  to  help  us  to  get  out  of  here  as  soon 
as  possible.  We  didn't  want  to  come  In  the  first  place, 
and  we  are  in  a  hurry  to  get  out." 

Captain  Lingo  laughed  heartily.  "They  are  In  a 
hurry  to  get  out,  lads,"  he  said  to  his  companions;  and 
at  this  they  all  laughed  uproariously. 

"I  don't  see  anything  to  laugh  at,"  said  Aunt 
Amanda.  "If  we  don't  get  out  of  here  soon,  we'll 
catch  our  death  of  cold." 

This  made  Captain  Lingo  laugh  more  heartily  than 
before.  "Ha!  ha!  ha!  Their  death  of  cold!  That 
would  be  a  rare  fine  thing,  but  a  bit  too  slow,  lads,  eh?" 
And  the  other  six  laughed  again,  so  that  the  walls  of 
the  chamber  echoed  with  their  mirth. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  too  slow?"  said  Aunt 
Amanda. 

"Madam,"    said   Captain  Lingo,    *'we  are   a   little 


A  FINE  PIECE  OF  HEAD-WORK        1 25 

pressed  for  time.    We  really  could  not  wait  for  you  to 
die  of  colds." 

"What?"  said  Aunt  Amanda  faintly,  her  feeling  of 
confidence  beginning  to  ooze  away.     "Do  you  mean  to 

say -?" 

"Madam,"  said  the  pirate,  seriously,  "I  will  put  it 
to  you  plainly.  Our  treasure,  which  you  have  discov- 
ered, has  taken  a  great  deal  of  hard  work  to  accumu- 
late. We  really  couldn't  bear  to  lose  it.  The  people 
of  this  island,  and  a  great  many  other  people  besides, 
have  been  trying  for  many  years  to  find  it.  You  have 
not  only  found  it,  but  you  have  even  gone  so  far  as  to 
open  certain  of  our  bags,  in  spite  of  the  warning  posted 
above  3^our  heads.  Now  picture  to  yourselves,  dear 
madam  and  gentlemen,  what  consequences  would  cer- 
tainly ensue  if  you  were  to  leave — here — ahem  ! — 
alive." 

"Oh!"  gasped  Aunt  Amanda.  "Leave — here — 
alive!" 

"All  the  fruits  of  our  industry  would  be  lost,  and 
our  own  safety  would  be  imperilled.  You  will  readily 
see  that,  of  course.  'Tis  a  pity  so  many  will  have  to 
die  at  once,  for  it  will  mess  up  the  place  very  badly, 
and  I  always  endeavor  to  be  neat.  But  why,  why  did 
so  many  of  you  come  at  once?  Couldn't  you  have 
come,  say  two  at  a  time?  It  would  have  made  so  much 
less  trouble." 

"Ho !"  said  Mr.  Punch.  "Hif  we  'ad  only  stopped 
at  'ome,  hall  of  us !" 

"However,  I  do  not  wish  you  to  feel  too  keenly  the 
trouble  you  are  putting  us  to;  my  brave  lads  will  cheer- 
fully put  up  with  the  inconvenience,  though  I  must 
confess  the  amount  of  blood  will  be  quite  unusual,  and 
so  many  bodies  will  be  troublesome  to  bury.  I  wish  It 
were  possible  to  have  you  walk  the  plank.  However, 
pray  do  not  bother  too  much  on  our  account." 


126  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"We  weren't  thinking  about  you  at  all,"  said  Toby. 
"We  were  thinking  about  ourselves." 

"Oh,"  said  Captain  Lingo,  in  a  tone  of  disappoint- 
ment. "I  beg  your  pardon;  I  misunderstood.  At  any 
rate,  we  will  now  prepare  for  our  little  ceremony.  If 
there  are  any  trifling  articles  of  jewelry  and  the  like, 
I  will  be  pleased  to " 

"But  this  boy !"  cried  Toby.  "And  this  lady !  You 
don't  mean  to — you  can't  mean " 

"Not  for  worlds,"  said  Captain  Lingo,  "would  I  be 
rude  to  a  lady.  I  trust  you  will  find  my  conduct 
towards  the  lady  beyond  reproach.  There  shall  be  no 
rudeness  of  any  kind.  Merely  a  quick  stroke,  and  all 
will  be  over.  No  violence,  no  roughness  of  any  kind; 
not  a  word  to  offend  the  most  sensitive  ears.  A  single 
stroke,  and  the  affair  is  done.  And  let  me  tell  you,  I 
have  here  with  me  a  Practitioner  who  is  very  expert 
in  this  sort  of  business:  our  friend  Ketch,  in  fact,  who 
was  so  kind  as  to  wet  the  handkerchief  for  the  lady. 
I  assure  you  that  you  are  in  great  luck  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  such  a  Practitioner;  he  will  make  it  as  pleasant 
for  you  as  possible;  one  stroke  only,  I  promise  you. 
With  one  stroke  of  a  cutlass,  he  is  able  to  slice  off  a 
head  as  neatly  as  you  could  do  it  with  a  broadaxe; 
there  are  very  few  who  can  do  it  with  a  cutlass,  let  me 
tell  you  that.  Many  men  have  become  famous  by  being 
operated  on  by  Ketch.  I  remember  a  case — However," 
he  said,  looking  about  him  as  if  considering  something, 
and  speaking  rather  to  himself  than  to  the  others,  "it 
would  be  difficult  to  bury  the  bodies  here,  and  the  light 
is  not  very  good.  I  think,  yes,  I  think  it  had  better 
be  done  outside.  You  are  already  wet,  and  I  trust  that 
another  immersion  will  not  inconvenience  you  too 
much.  Lads,"  he  said  to  his  six  men,  "put  on  the  rub- 
ber suits,  and  help  our  friends  under  the  fall.  Look 
alive,  now." 

The  six  men  immediately  ran  to  their  rubber  suits 


A  FINE  PIECE  OF  HEAD-WORK        127 

and  began  to  put  them  on.  While  they  were  doing  this, 
Toby  put  one  arm  about  Freddie  and  the  other  about 
Aunt  Amanda.  She  lowered  her  head  to  his  shoulder 
for  a  moment,  but  she  soon  raised  it,  and  standing  very 
erect  she  said,  "Very  well,  if  it  must  be,  it  must.  It's 
easy  to  see  that  this  bloodthirsty  villain  means  every 
word  he  says;  but  I  ain't  going  to  whimper;  I'm  the 
captain,  and  I  order  that  everybody  keep  up  his  cour- 
age, and  wait  and  see  what  will  happen." 

"Ay,  ay,  ma'am,"  said  the  Churchwarden. 

"Do  you  know,"  whispered  the  Old  Codger  with  the 
Wooden  Leg,  "I  believe  that  we  are  in  a  good  deal  of 
— er — danger." 

Freddie  put  his  hand  in  Toby's,  and  held  it  tight. 
"You  keep  close  to  me  if  you  can,"  said  Toby,  squeez- 
ing his  hand.  "We  may  be  rescued  at  the  last  minute; 
you  never  can  tell.     Don't  lose  your  nerve." 

Freddie  was  trembling  with  fear,  and  the  hand  which 
held  Toby's  was  as  cold  as  ice;  but  he  said  nothing; 
the  others  were  being  brave,  and  he  resolved  that  he 
would  be  as  brave  as  the  rest,  up  to  the  very  last.  He 
began  to  think  of  his  mother  and  his  father,  and  to 
wonder  what  would  become  of  them  If  he  should  be — 
but  he  forced  himself  not  to  think  of  that;  he  pressed 
his  lips  tight  together,  and  commanded  himself  to 
be  brave. 

The  six  pirates  returned,  clad  in  their  baggy  rubber 
suits,  and  looking  very  much  like  bears  walking  on 
their  hind  legs.  They  brought  with  them  Captain 
Lingo's  suit,  and  helped  him  to  get  into  it.  When  he 
was  encased  like  the  others,  with  only  his  hands  and 
face  showing,  he  said: 

"Now,  madam,  I  will  assist  you  to  the  fall." 

"We'll  attend  to  that,"  put  in  Toby,  quickly.  "Come 
on,  Mr.  Punch." 

Aunt  Amanda's  cane  having  been  lost,  she  found 
more  difficulty  in  walking  than  formerly,  but  Toby  and 


128  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Mr.  Punch  supported  her  to  such  good  effect  that  she 
kept  up  with  the  others  very  well  on  their  march  into 
the  water  towards  the  fall.  All,  except  the  pirates, 
shivered  as  the  cold  water  came  again  around  their 
knees,  and  they  looked  with  fear  upon  the  tumbling 
cafaract  which  they  were  required  to  go  under.  There 
was  no  help  for  it,  however;  the  seven  pirates  sur- 
rounded them  and  persuaded  them  to  go  on.  They 
stood  in  a  forlorn  group  in  the  quiet  water  near  the 
foot  of  the  fall. 

"Now,  madam,"  said  Captain  Lingo,  "I  will  help 
you  under." 

Toby  and  Mr.  Punch,  feeling  that  the  pirate  knew 
the  way  better  than  they  did,  resigned  Aunt  Amanda  to 
his  care,  not  without  some  fear  that  the  villain  might 
deliberately  drown  her  on  the  way  through.  He  made 
her  kneel  in  the  water,  and  then  lie  flat;  and  with  a 
strong  arm  he  pulled  her  under  the  water-fall  and  out 
of  sight. 

"You're  next,"  said  a  deep  voice  to  Freddie,  and 
Ketch  the  Practitioner  seized  him  and  plunged  with 
him  under  the  water;  and  in  an  instant  they  had  disap- 
peared beyond  the  fall. 

One  after  another  the  miserable,  shivering  victims 
were  assisted  by  the  pirates  under  the  water,  and  one 
by  one  disappeared.  The  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden 
Leg  was  the  last,  and  one  of  the  pirates  returned  for 
him.  When  he  had  followed  the  others,  the  great 
half-dark  chamber  remained  as  it  had  been  before,  in 
its  empty  solitude  and  gloom,  without  an  ear  to  hear 
the  steady  rush  of  water  pouring  incessantly  down  its 
fall. 

On  the  outer  side  of  that  rushing  fall  was  a  scene 
very  different  indeed.  The  pirates  and  their  captives 
stood  under  a  blazing  sun,  looking  across  a  wide  and 
beautiful  landscape.  Behind  them,  in  the  side  of  a  high 
hill  overgrown  with  bushes,  was  the  hole  by  which  they 


A  FINE  PIECE  OF  HEAD-WORK        1 29 

had  come  forth,  and  across  the  Inside  of  this  hole  was 
the  curtain  of  falling  water.  Freddie  wondered  how 
anyone  had  ever  had  the  courage  to  plunge  for  the 
first  time  through  that  curtain  into  the  unknown  dark. 
The  heat  of  the  sun  was  very  grateful,  and  the  clothing 
of  the  soaked  travellers  began  to  dry  perceptibly  at 
once.     The  pirates  took  off  their  rubber  suits. 

Beneath  the  observers  the  ground  sloped  down  Into 
a  broad  valley,  chequered  with  grass  meadows  and 
dotted  with  trees.  To  theiil  left,  as  they  gazed  out 
across  the  landscape,  the  ground  rose  from  the  valley 
by  easy  stages  to  a  great  height,  no  doubt  forming  the 
landward  side  of  the  black  cliff  which  bordered  the 
ocean. 

To  the  right,  the  country  rolled  gently  away  from 
the  valley  in  a  vast  unbroken  forest,  a  shimmering  green 
ocean  of  tree-tops  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see.  Far,  far 
off  where  the  forest  rose  In  a  kind  of  mound,  Freddie 
thought  he  could  see  what  looked  like  the  top  of  a 
round  tower,  just  emerging  above  the  haze  of  trees. 

The  pirates  and  their  captives  were  standing  on  a 
little  grassy  plateau,  on  which  were  great  boulders  here 
and  there,  and  a  few  wide  leafy  trees.  Two  or  three 
fallen  logs  were  lying  near  the  edge  of  the  plateau, 
where  it  began  to  slope  downward. 

Captain  Lingo  stepped  out  of  his  rubber  suit,  spread 
out  his  fine  white  handkerchief  on  a  boulder  to  dry, 
and  twiddled  his  moist  fingers  daintily  in  the  air,  after 
which  he  blew  on  his  finger-nails  and  polished  them  on 
his  shirt-sleeves. 

"We  are  now  ready,"  said  he,  "for  the  ceremony. 
Ketch,  thy  cutlass." 

Ketch  drew  his  cutlass  from  his  belt  and  handed  it 
to  the  captain.  It  glittered  wickedly  In  the  sunlight. 
The  captain  ran  his  thumb  along  Its  edge,  and  nodded 
his  head  with  satisfaction. 

"It  will  do,"  said  he.     "One  stroke  for  each  will  be 


I30  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

quite  sufficient.     We  will  now  proceed  with  the  cere- 
mony." 

He  restored  the  cutlass  to  the  Practitioner,  who 
raised  it  high  and  gave  a  swinging  slash  downward 
with  it,  as  if  to  test  his  eye  and  arm.  The  Practitioner 
then  rolled  his  right  shirt-sleeve  up  to  his  shoulder;  he 
was  the  largest  man  in  the  party,  and  his  arm  was  the 
arm  of  a  blacksmith. 

"Stop!"  cried  Mr.  Punch.  "One  moment!  Captain 
Lingo  !    You  are  a  Henglishman,  aren't  you  ?" 

"I  am  an  Englishman,"  said  the  Captain,  swelling 
Out  his  chest.     "Long  live  King  James  !" 

"Hi  am  a  Henglishman  also,"  said  Mr.  Punch, 
swelling  out  his  chest.  "You  carn't  murder  a  fellow- 
countryman  in  cold  blood,  now  can  you?  Hi  s'y,  you 
couldn't  do  that,  you  know.  We're  both  subjects  of 
her  gracious  Majesty,  we  are.  Long  live  Queen  Vic- 
toria!" 

"Who?"  said  Captain  Lingo, 

"Queen  Victoria!"  cried  Mr.  Punch.  "She'd  never, 
never  forgive  you  hlf " 

"Never  heard  of  her,"  said  Captain  Lingo  calmly. 
"I'm  a  loyal  subject  of  his  Catholic  Majesty  King 
James  the  Second, — may  all  the  saints  defend  him!" 

"King  James  the  Second !"  cried  Mr.  Punch.  "Why, 
'e's  been  dead  these  two  'undred  year,  nearly!  'E's 
as  dead  as  Christopher  Columbus!" 

Captain  Lingo  started  violently,  and  his  face  became 
dark  with  anger, 

"Dead?  King  James  dead?  Do  you  mark  that, 
lads?  He  calls  his  blessed  Majesty  dead!  Aha!  thou 
renegade  Englishman,  thou  hast  imagined  the  death 
of  the  king!  A  felony,  by  St.  George!  And  the 
punishment  is  death  !  What,  thou  reprobate,  dost  thou 
not  know  'tis  a  felony,  punishable  by  death,  to  imagine 
the  death  of  the  King?" 


A  FINE  PIECE  OF  HEAD-WORK        131 

"But  'e  is  dead.  One  carn't  live  two  'undred  years, 
you  know." 

"You  hear !"  said  Captain  Lingo,  his  voice  quivering 
with  rage.  "He  imagines  the  death  of  the  King!  Any 
judge  in  the  kingdom  would  sentence  him  to  die  for 
that !  'Tis  the  law !  But  enough  talk.  Captain  Lingo 
is  not  the  man  to  stand  by  and  see  the  law  defied !  For 
that,  my  pretty  Englishman,  thou  shalt  die  the  death 
twice  over.  There  shall  be  violence  in  thy  case.  Thou 
shalt  wish  thou  hadst  never  been  born.  Thou  shalt  be 
kept  for  the  last.  Ay,  ay;  there  shall  be  fine  sport  at 
his  taking  off,  eh,  lads?  Enough!  Proceed  with  the 
ceremony.  To  Imagine  the  death  of  the  King!  Ketch, 
art  thou  ready?" 

"Ay,  ay.  Captain,"  said  the  Practitioner. 

The  captain  cast  his  angry  eye  over  the  terrified 
group  shivering  In  their  damp  garments.  "One  of  you 
must  be  first.  Who  shall  be  first?  Let  me  see."  Each 
person  quailed  as  the  pirate's  eye  rested  on  him.  "One 
moment.    We  will  decide  it  by  chance." 

He  plucked  seven  sprigs  of  grass,  and  broke  them 
into  varying  lengths.  He  then  held  them  in  his  hand 
so  that  only  the  even  ends  showed.  "Now  choose," 
said  he.     "The  longest  blade  shall  be  first." 

Each  drew  a  blade  of  grass,  except  Mr.  Punch,  who 
had  already  been  reserved  for  the  last.  "Thou  shalt 
be  quartered  alive,"  said  the  captain  to  him.  "To  dare 
imagine  the  death  of  the  King!" 

Freddie  trembled  as  he  drew  his  sprig  of  grass;  but 
he  did  not  draw  the  longest;  the  longest  blade  fell  to 
Mr.  Hanlon,  and  the  next  to  Freddie.  Mr.  Toby  was 
third,  the  Churchwarden  fourth,  the  Sly  Old  Codger 
fifth,  Aunt  Amanda  sixth,  and  the  Old  Codger  with 
the  Wooden  Leg  seventh. 

"We  will  use  that  fallen  log,"  said  the  captain,  and 
led  the  way  towards  it.     He  was  now  very  stern;  all 


132  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

his  politeness  had  been  dissipated  by  the  offense  of  Mnj 
Punch. 

"Toby,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  as  they  were  moving 
towards  the  place  of  the  ceremony,  "I  hope  you  will 
excuse  me  for  all  the  cross  words  I  have  ever  spoken 
to  you." 

"Oh,  nonsense.  Aunt  Amanda,"  said  Toby,  sniffling 
a  little,  "Pve  been  a  trial  enough,  I  know  it.  What 
will  become  of  the  shop?" 

"Poor  Freddie!"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "It  just 
breaks  my  heart  to  see  him  so  brave.  He's  so  young 
to  have  to — to — And  his  poor  mother!  Oh  dear,  oh 
dear!" 

"Now  then,"  said  Captain  Lingo,  "you  may  sit  down 
on  the  grass  until  your  turns  come." 

Toby  helped  Aunt  Amanda  to  sit  down.  Freddie 
sat  beside  her  and  pressed  his  white  face  against  her 
shoulder.  The  others  grouped  themselves  on  the  grass 
about  them;  all  except  Mr.  Hanlon,  who,  knowing  that 
his  time  had  come,  stepped  forward  and  stood  before 
Ketch  the  Practitioner,  who  was  feeling  the  edge  of 
his  cutlass. 

One  of  the  pirates  produced  from  his  pocket  some 
strong  twine,  and  bound  Mr.  Hanlon's  arms  behind 
him.  On  a  sign  from  Captain  Lingo,  this  man  led 
Mr.  Hanlon  to  the  fallen  log,  and  made  him  kneel 
beside  it  and  rest  his  head  face  down  upon  it,  so  that 
there  was  a  good  view  from  above  of  the  back  of 
his  neck. 

The  dreadful  moment  had  arrived. 

Ketch  the  Practitioner  took  his  place  by  Mr.  Han- 
lon's side,  planted  his  feet  firmly,  wide  apart,  tucked 
in  his  right  shirt-sleeve  at  the  shoulder,  and  raised 
his  gleaming  cutlass  high  above  his  head. 

A  scream  from  Aunt  Amanda  made  him  hesitate 
for  an  instant,  but  only  for  an  instant;  as  Aunt  Amanda 
and  Freddie  closed  their  eyes  and  burled  their  faces  in 


A  FINE  PIECE  OF  HEAD-WORK        133 

their  hands,  the  cutlass  flashed  twice  around  the  head 
of  Ketch  and  came  down  with  a  swift  and  horrible 
slash  straight  upon  the  back  of  Mr.  Hanlon's  neck. 

A  single  stroke  was  enough;  Mr.  Hanlon's  head 
rolled   off  upon  the  ground. 

I  "Well  done,  Ketch,"  said  Captain  Lingo,  quietly. 
"I  doubt  if  there's  another  hand  on  the  Spanish  Main 
could  have  done  it." 

Ketch  blushed  with  honest  pride  at  these  gracious 
words.  He  swung  his  bloody  cutlass  in  embarrass- 
ment. All  the  pirates  turned  towards  the  pale  group 
on  the  grass,  and  Captain  Lingo  said,  "Next!" 

Freddie  stood  up.  His  knees  began  to  tremble 
under  him,  and  his  heart  was  beating  so  fast  that 
he  could  hardly  breathe.  Aunt  Amanda  flung  her 
arms  about  him  as  he  stood  beside  her,  and  cried  "No, 
no,  no!"  in  a  voice  of  anguish. 

All  eyes  were  on  the  Little  Boy,  as  he  stood  await- 
ing his  dreadful  fate,  with  Aunt  Amanda's  arms  about 
him.  His  time  had  come.  His  friends  were  waiting 
to  see  if  he  would  be  brave,  and  though  his  face  was 
white  his  courage  did  not  fail  him.  He  looked  at  them 
in  farewell,  and  each  one  gave  him  a  tearful  gaze 
in  return. 

He  turned  his  eyes  towards  the  warm  and  friendly 
landscape,  for  a  last  look  at  the  world  he  was  about 
to  leave.  It  would  be  hard  to  go,  and  he  would  need 
all  his  strength  to  bear  the —  A  loud  cry  from  Freddie 
startled  all  the  others.  "Look!"  he  cried,  and  pointed 
a  shaking  finger. 

They  looked,  and  what  they  saw  was  Mr.  Hanlon. 

By  the  log  on  which  his  head  had  been  cut  off,  Mr. 
Hanlon  was  standing,  his  hands  behind  his  back, 
and  his  head  in  its  proper  place  on  his  shoulders. 
He  was  smiling  and  bowing,  and  as  the  astonished 
spectators    gazed    at    him    with    their   mouths    open. 


134  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 


"... '  "   ,  -^^ .    <^ 

Mr.  Hanlon  was  standing  by  the  log  on  which 
his  head  had  been  cut  off. 


A  FINE  PIECE  OF  HEAD-WORK        135 

he  sprang  lightly  into  the  air  and  clicked  his  heels 
together  as  he  came  down. 

"Ha!  ha!  ha!"  laughed  Toby  in  spite  of  himself. 
"Freddie,  we've  seen  that  little  act  before,  haven't 
wer 

Freddie  nodded.  He  remembered  very  well  the  first 
time  he  had  seen  Mr.  Hanlon's  head  cut  off,  at  the 
Gaunt  Street  Theatre  at  home;  he  wondered  that  he 
had  not  thought  of  it  before. 

Captain  Lingo  was  plainly  very  angry.  His  face 
turned  a  purple  hue,  and  the  scar  across  his  mouth 
showed  very  white.  He  fingered  his  knife  danger- 
ously, and  at  the  same  time  glared  at  Ketch,  who 
was  scratching  his  head  in  bewilderment.  The  cap- 
tain did  not  raise  his  voice,  but  he  spoke  with  deadly 
earnestness. 

*'A  fine  workman  thou,  friend  Ket'ch,"  said  he. 
"Truly  a  pretty  hand  with  a  cutlass,  thou  son  of  a 
sea-cook.  I've  a  mind  to  let  a  little  of  thy  blood 
with  this  knife,  thou  scurvy  knave.  But  I  will  give 
thee  one  more  chance.  If  thou  fail  again,  by  St. 
George  thou  shalt  die  the  death.  Once  more,  now! 
And  remember!" 

It  was  Ketch's  turn  now  to  tremble.  He  knew 
very  well  that  Captain  Lingo  would  do  as  he  had 
said,  if  he  should  fail  a  second  time.  His  own  life 
hung  on  a  thread  now. 

"Ay,  ay,  Captain,"  he  said  huskily,  and  led  Mr. 
Hanlon  back  to  the  fallen  log  and  made  him  kneel 
as  before. 

As  Mr.  Hanlon's  head  lay  across  the  log,  he  turned 
it  round  towards  his  friends,  and  gave  them  a  long 
slow  wink. 

Ketch's  cutlass  flashed  as  before.  Round  his  head  it 
swung  twice,  and  down  it  came  with  a  slashing  stroke 
straight  and  true  on  the  back  of  Mr.  Hanlon's  neck. 
Off  rolled  Mr.  Hanlon's  head  upon  the  ground. 


136  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Everyone  watched  breathlessly;  and  Ketch  did  not 
breathe  at  all. 

For  a  second  Mr.  Hanlon's  body  continued  to  kneel 
headless  beside  the  log.  Then  the  head  on  the  ground 
popped  like  a  flash  to  the  neck  it  belonged  to,  and 
fastened  itself  accurately  there  in  place.  Ketch  turned 
ghastly  pale. 

Mr.  Hanlon  sprang  up,  opened  his  mouth  wide  in 
a  soundless  laugh,  bowed  to  Captain  Lingo,  jumped 
lightly  into  the  air,  and  clicked  his  heels  together  three 
times  as   he   came   down. 

Captain  Lingo's  face  was  a  terrible  sight  to  see.  He 
gazed  steadily  at  Ketch.  The  unfortunate  Practitioner 
was  shaking  like  a  leaf.  Captain  Lingo  slowly  drew 
his  knife,  and  held  it  behind  him  in  his  right  hand. 
With  the  other  hand  he  pointed  to  the  ground  before 
him. 

"Hither,  dog,"  he  said,  in  a  quiet,  even  voice. 

Ketch  hesitated,  gave  a  wild  look  about  him,  and 
advanced  slowly  towards  his  captain.  When  he 
reached  him,  he  fell  on  his  knees  and  held  up  his 
shaking  hands. 

"No!  no!  no!  captain,"  he  cried.  "Don't  do  it! 
Oh,  please  don't  do  it!  I  done  my  duty  always,  and 
I  ain't  never  failed  before!  Remember  my  poor 
old  mother,  captain!  Give  me  one  chance,  captain, 
just  one!     Don't  kill  me!     Captain!     Captain!" 

The  expression  on  Lingo's  face  did  not  change;  but 
the  glitter  in  his  eye  became  even  more  murderous 
than  before.  He  said  not  a  word,  but  with  his  left 
hand  snatched  off  the  kerchief  which  bound  Ketch's 
head,  and  seized  him  by  the  hair;  and  with  his  other 
hand  he  brought  the  knife  swiftly  around  in  front  and 
lowered  it  to  plunge  it  into  Ketch's  heart. 

At  that  moment  Aunt  Amanda,  forgetting  her  lame- 
ness, struggled  to  her  feet,  hobbled  to  the  kneeling 


A  FINE  PIECE  OF  HEAD-WORK        137 

man,  and  throwing  her  body  between  him  and  the 
knife,  shrieked  at  Captain  Lingo. 

"Stop!  stop!  you  bloodthirsty  villain!  Ain't  you 
got  no  shame?  What  are  you  going  to  murder  him 
for?  Ain't  he  done  the  best  he  could?  You're  a  big 
bully,  that's  all  you  are!  You  ain't  a  man  at  all, 
you're  a  monster !  Put  up  that  knife,  and  take  your 
hand  out  of  his  hair!  Ain't  you  ashamed  of  your- 
self?" 

Captain  Lingo  was  taken  completely  by  surprise.  His 
eyes  opened  wide  and  his  jaw  dropped;  he  was  so  as- 
tonished that  he  took  his  hand  from  Ketch's  hair  and 
put  up  his  knife. 

"That's  the  idea,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "You're 
more  of  a  man  than  I  thought.  Mr.  Ketch,  you  had 
better  get  up." 

"Madam,"  said  Captain  Lingo,  making  her  a  bow, 
"  'tis  a  bold  action  and  generous.  I  trust  I  am  able 
to  respond  to  it  in  kind.  My  duty  to  you,  ma'am; 
your  obedient  humble  servant.  Ketch,  thou  white- 
livered  dog,  get  up,  and  thank  this  lady  for  thy  life." 

Ketch,  still  pale  and  trembling,  stood  up,  and  seizing 
one  of  Aunt  Amanda's  hands  in  both  of  his,  made  a 
low  bow  over  it  and  kissed  it  fervently.  By  the  look 
in  his  eyes  it  was  plain  to  see  that  he  was  from 
that  moment  her  devoted  slave. 

"Madam  and  gentlemen,"  said  Captain  Lingo,  "I 
am  sorry  to  inform  you  that  the  ceremony  is  over,  until 
I  can  obtain  another  Practitioner  to  take  the  place 
of  Ketch.  I  blush  with  shame  when  I  think  how  I 
boasted  of  his  skill.  I  hope  you  will  not  think  I  meant 
to  deceive  you.  I  assure  you  I  am  more  disappointed 
than  you  can  possibly  be.  I  am  provoked  and  dis- 
gusted and  irritated;  I  am  annoyed;  I  can't  deny  it. 
There  Is  nothing  to  do  but  to  retire  to  our  home  in 
High  Dudgeon." 


138  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"What's  that?"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Is  It  a  place, 
or  is  it  just  the  way  you  feel?" 

"Ask  me  no  more,"  said  Captain  Lingo,  turning 
away.  "I  must  confer  with  my  lads  about  our  next 
step." 

"Are  you  going  to  take  us  with  you?"  asked  Aunt 
Amanda. 

"We  shall  certainly  give  ourselves  that  pleasure, 
madam,"  said  the  captain,  rather  stiffly.  "Lads,  come 
with  me." 

On  a  sign  from  the  captain,  one  of  the  pirates  cut 
the  twine  which  bound  Mr.  Hanlon's  hands,  and  the 
restored  one  joined  his  friends  on  the  grass.  The 
seven  pirates  moved  away  to  a  spot  some  score  of  yards 
apart,  where  they  all  sat  down  on  the  ground  and 
engaged  at  once  in  animated  talk. 

"I  conclude,"  said  the  Churchwarden,  "though  I 
don't  know  as  I'm  right  about  it,  and  other  people 
may  have  a  different  opinion,  that  we're  a  good  deal 
better  off — " 

"What  I  say  is,"  said  Toby,  clapping  Freddie  on  the 
shoulder,  "what  I  say  is,  three  cheers  for  Mr. 
Hanlon!" 

"Yes!"  said  Freddie.  "That's  just  what  I  said  that 
day  after  the  theatre  !" 

"I  wonder,"  said  the  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden 
Leg,  "I  wonder  if — er — ahem! — if  Captain  Lingo 
has- — er — such  a  thing  as  a  pinch  of  snuff  about  him." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HIGH    DUDGEON    AND    LOW    DUDGEON 

THE  pirate  captain  and  his  men  rose  from  the 
ground,  and  Captain  Lingo,  in  his  politest 
manner,  requested  his  captives  to  follow  him. 
The  entire  party  moved  down  the  slope  into  the  val- 
ley, and  after  a  walk  of  some  quarter  of  a  mile  en- 
tered a  grove  of  trees.  In  this  grove  were  tethered 
ten  handsome  mules,  of  which  seven  were  saddled  and 
three  were  laden  with  packs. 

One  of  the  pack-mules  was  quickly  unladen,  a  fire 
was  built,  and  in  ten  minutes  the  hungry  guests  and 
their  hosts  were  making  a  very  good  breakfast  of 
bacon,  fried  by  Mr.  Leatherbread,  as  the.  captain 
called  him,  one  of  the  pirates  to  whom  the  business  of 
the  frying-pan  was  left  by  general  consent.  When 
the  bacon  had  been  washed  down  with  clear  cold  water 
from  a  spring  near  by,  and  the  mule  had  been  packed 
again,  Freddie  and  Aunt  Amanda  were  assisted  into 
the  saddles  of  the  two  smallest  mules,  and  the  captain 
mounted  into  the  saddle  of  the  largest. 

"Now  look  here.  Captain  Lingo,"  said  Aunt 
Amanda,  "I  want  to  know  where  we  are  going  and 
all  about  it.  The  idea  of  me  sitting  here  a-straddle 
of  a  mule !  And  this  bonnet  simply  ruined,  and  my 
dress  just  about  fit  to  go  to  the  rag-bone  man,  and 
my  hair — Look  here,  Captain  Lingo,  I  ain't  going  a 
step  on  this  mule  until  you   tell  me  what — " 

"Pardon  me,  my  dear  lady,"  said  the  captain,  "but 
I  must  ask  you  to  put  up  with  my  little  whims  a 
short  while  longer.     I  beg  the  pleasure  of  your  so- 

139 


140  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

cicty  upon  a  little  journey;  nothing  more.  I  assure 
you  the  country  is  very  interesting.  May  I  not  promise 
myself  the  bliss  of  your  approval?"  He  turned  to 
the  six  pirates  with  a  scowl.  "Mount  the  rest  of 
them,  scoundrels !" 

Four  of  the  captives  were  mounted  by  the  pirates 
on  the  remaining  mules,  and  the  procession  moved  out 
of  the  grove  into  the  open  valley. 

Freddie  had  never  ridden  a  mule  before,  and  he 
was  delighted.  When  they  entered,  as  they  soon  did, 
the  great  forest  which  they  had  seen  from,  the  plateau, 
Freddie  was  more  than  ever  delighted.  After  the 
blazing  sun  of  the  open  country,  the  shade  of  the  forest 
was  delicious.  The  trees  were  huge,  and  while  the 
trunks  were  far  apart,  their  branches  made  a  leafy  roof 
overhead  which  was  almost  unbroken.  Flowering 
plants  grew  everywhere;  vines  climbed  the  trees;  little 
streams  murmured  here  and  there;  and  the  only  sound 
which  disturbed  the  repose  of  the  forest  was  the  oc- 
casional screech  of  a  parrot  and  the  occasional  chat- 
ter of  monkeys.  The  first  time  Freddie  heard  the 
sudden  scream  of  a  parrot  in  the  stillness  he  was 
thoroughly  alarmed,  but  when  he  learned  what  it  was, 
and  saw  the  flash  of  the  bird's  plumage  between  the 
trees,  he  forgot  all  about  his  danger,  and  for  the  rest 
of  the  day  he  gave  himself  up  to  the  pleasure  of  watch- 
ing for  parrots  and  monkeys  among  the  branches. 

The  Sly  Old  Codger  turned  in  his  saddle  and  said 
to  Toby,  who  was  riding  behind,  with  Mr.  Punch 
walking  between: 

"A  work  of  nature,  my  dear  friend,  a  real  work 
of  nature.  So  beautiful!  Parrots  and  monkeys  flit- 
ting about  overhead,  the  primeval  forest  stretching 
its  bosky  arms  above  us  in  all  directions — so  bosky! 
What  one  might  call  a  real  work  of  nature;  so  very, 
very  bosky." 

"Right  you  are,"  said  Toby.     "It  puts  our  Druid 


HIGH  DUDGEON  AND  LOW  DUDGEON  141 

Hill  Park  in  the  shade,  that's  a  fact;  makes  it  take  a 
back  seat  and  play  second  fiddle,  as  sure  as  you're 
born." 

"Hi  beg  your  pardon,"  said  Mr.  Punch.  "  'Ow  can 
a  park  sit  down  and  play  a  fiddle?" 

All  day  long  they  moved  onward,  single  file,  further 
and  further  into  the  depths  of  the  forest.  At  noon 
they  halted  for  a  luncheon  of  fried  bacon,  prepared 
by  Mr.  Leatherbread.  The  afternoon  wore  on,  and 
the  forest  became  gloomier  and  gloomier  about  them 
as  they  marched;  the  silence  grew  almost  terrifying; 
and  all  the  pleasure  which  Freddie  had  felt  in  the 
morning  vanished.  Night  fell,  and  the  procession  en- 
tered a  little  clearing,  and  there  the  pirates  made 
camp  for  the  night. 

After  a  supper  of  fried  bacon,  prepared  by  Mr. 
Leatherbread,  the  whole  party  retired  to  rest,  each  on 
a  mattress  of  green  branches  and  leaves,  covered  with 
blankets.  The  night  was  mild,  and  when  the  last 
blanket  had  been  made  ready  the  moon  rose  and  tinged 
the  tops  of  the  trees  with  silver;  and  while  Freddie 
was  watching  the  moon  as  it  climbed  higher,  he  fell 
asleep.     Aunt  Amanda  did  not  go  to  sleep  so  soon. 

Ketch  the  Practitioner  had  devoted  himself  very 
specially  to  her  in  preparing  her  resting-place.  While 
he  was  spreading  the  branches  and  blankets  for  her, 
she  said  to  him : 

"Ketch,  where  are  we  going?" 

"Not  so  loud,  ma'am,"  said  he.  "We  are  going 
to  High  Dudgeon." 

"High  Dudgeon!     What's  that?" 

"S-sh!  When  we're  disappointed,  or  disgusted,  or 
vexed,  we  always  go  to  our  home  in  High  Dudgeon." 

"Is    that  where  you   live?" 

"Part  of  the  time,  ma'am.  Mostly  we  are  away  at 
sea  or  on  the  Island;  but  when  anything  goes  wrong. 


142  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

and  we're  angry  about  it,  we  always  go  home  and 
stay  there,  in  High  Dudgeon.     Yes,  ma'am." 

"And  what  are  they  going  to  do  with  us  when  they 
get  us  there?" 

"S-sh!  You'll  be  in  great  danger  there.  If  you 
can  find  any  way  to  escape  from  there,  I  advise  you — 
S-sh!  Not  another  word.  Captain  Lingo  is  looking 
this  way.     I   must  go." 

Aunt  Amanda  did  not  sleep  very  well  that  night. 

In  the  morning,  after  a  breakfast  of  fried  bacon, 
prepared  by  Mr.  Leatherbread,  the  company  resumed 
its  march. 

At  noon,  a  halt  was  made  beside  a  spring  for  rest 
and  food,  and  here  Mr.  Leatherbread  prepared  a 
luncheon  of  fried  bacon. 

In  the  evening,  as  the  travellers  were  plodding  on- 
ward. Ketch  walked  for  a  time  at  the  head  of  Aunt 
Amanda's  mule.  Aunt  Amanda  leaned  forward  and 
said  to  him : 

"Ketch,  are  we  going  to  have  more  bacon  tonight?" 

"No,  ma'am,"  said  he,  in  a  low  voice.  "We'll  have 
supper  in  High  Dudgeon.  My  old  mother's  the  cook 
there.  You  heard  me  mention  her  yesterday  morn- 
ing. I've  an  idea  there'll  be  pigeon  pies  for  supper. 
And  mark  what  I'm  saying  to  you,  ma'am."  His  voice 
sank  to  a  whisper.  "If  you  get  a  pigeon  pie  for  sup- 
per, look  careful  to  see  what's  Inside  of  it  before  you 
eat  it." 

"Mercy  on  us!"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Are  they 
going  to  poison  us?" 

But  Ketch  slipped  away  in  the  gathering  darkness, 
and  said  no  more. 

They  had  gone  but  a  few  hundred  yards  further, 
when,  at  the  moment  when  the  darkness  of  night  was 
making  ready  to  blot  out  everything,  they  suddenly 
emerged  into  a  round  grassy  clearing  enclosed  by  the 
forest,  where  the  light  was  better,  and  over  which  a 


HIGH  DUDGEON  AxND  LOW  DUDGEON  143 

star  or  two  could  be  seen  glimmering  in  a  pale  blue 
sky.     In  the  midst  of  this  clearing  rose  a  tower. 

It  was  a  round  tower,  built  of  stone;  its  top  came 
scarcely  to  the  top  of  the  surrounding  trees,  and  it 
was  in  fact  not  more  than  twO'  stories  high;  it  appeared, 
with  its  wide  girth,  low  and  squat.  Its  sides  were 
pierced  here  and  there  with  deep  and  narrow  slits, 
for  windows,  and  on  one  side  was  a  heavy  oaken  door, 
with  great  iron  hinges  and  an  iron  lock.  Through 
two  or  three  of  the  upper  slits  in  the  wall  glimmered 
a  light  from  within.  It  was  otherwise  dark  and  for- 
bidding. 

Aunt  Amanda  found  Ketch  at  her  mule's  head  again. 
She  leaned  forward  and  said  to  him: 

"Is  that  High  Dudgeon?" 

"No,  ma'am.     That's  Low  Dudgeon." 

"Low  Dudgeon?  What  do  you  mean  by  Low 
Dudgeon?" 

Ketch  looked  at  the  tower  and  shuddered.  "I  don't 
like  to  talk  about  it,  ma'am.  I  don't  like  the  place. 
It's  the  place  where  we  used  to  live  long  ago,  before 
we  built  High  Dudgeon.  There's  none  of  us  wants 
to  live  there  now.  We  haven't  lived  there  since — " 
Ketch  paused,  and  shuddered  again,  and  evidently  de- 
cided not  to  go  on. 

"There's  a  light  up  there,"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 
"Does    anybody  live  there?" 

"No,  ma'am,"  said  Ketch.     "Nobody  lives  there." 

"But  there's  a  light,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Surely 
there  must  be  somebody  there." 

"There  is,  ma'am;  there  is;  thirteen  of  'em." 

"Thirteen  what?" 

But  Ketch  only  shuddered  again,  and  would  say  no 
more. 

Aunt  Amanda  noticed  that  instead  of  going  straight 
onward  past  the  door  of  Low  Dudgeon,  the  pirates 
led  the  file  in  a  wide  course  away  from  it,  along  the 


144  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

edge  of  the  clearing,  as  if  to  avoid  coming  n&ar  to 
it;  and  when  the  procession  had  thus  skirted  the  clear- 
ing and  entered  the  forest  again  on  the  other  side, 
leaving  the  low  tower  behind,  a  sigh,  as  if  of  relief, 
went  up  from  Ketch  and  all  the  other  pirates;  except, 
however,  from  Captain  Lingo  himself,  who  appeared 
to  be  wholly  indifferent. 

"How  much  further?"  said  Aunt  Amanda  to  Ketch. 

"About  a  mile,  ma'am,"  said  he. 

The  last  mile  of  their  journey  was  a  long  mile,  and 
it  was  traversed  in  perfect  darkness.  The  moon  had 
not  yet  risen.  Not  a  word  was  spoken,  and  there  was 
no  sound  except  the  pad  of  the  mules'  feet  and  the 
breaking  of  twigs  and  branches  as  the  travellers 
pushed  their  way  through.  The  prisoners  were  in  a 
state  of  greater  nervousness  and  anxiety  than  before, 
and  as  they  neared  the  place  where  their  lives  were 
to  be  disposed  of  in  one  way  or  another,  their  sense 
of  uncertainty  became  almost  unbearable.  When  it 
seemed  that  they  must  be  close  to  the  fateful  place, 
the  procession  suddenly  halted,  and  at  the  same  instant 
the  screech  of  a  parrot  startled  the  silence  and  made 
each  of  the  prisoners  jump. 

"It's  only  the  captain,"  said  Ketch.     "It's  a  signal." 

Immediately,  as  if  in  response,  there  came  from  a 
distance  in  advance  the  note  of  a  cuckoo,  three  times 
repeated.     The   procession   moved   forward. 

A  moment  or  two  later,  the  whole  company  came 
forth  from  the  forest  under  the  stars,  and  stood  on  the 
edge  of  a  wide  round  clearing,  grown  high  with  grass 
and  weeds.      In  the  midst  of  this  clearing  rose  a  tower. 

"High  Dudgeon,"  said  Ketch  over  his  shoulder. 

This  also  was  a  round  tower,  built  of  stone;  but  It 
was  very  tall,  much  taller  than  the  highest  trees,  and 
from  the  top  there  must  have  been  a  view  of  all  the 
surrounding  country,  even  as  far  as  the  hill  within 
which  was  the  treasure  cave;  from  the  number  of  deep 


HIGH  DUDGEON  and  LOW  DUDGEON   145 

and  narrow  slits  which  served  as  windows  it  must  have 
been  six  or  seven  stories  high.  The  top  of  the  tower 
was  flat,  with  battlements  around  the  rim.  As  a  fort- 
ress, it  seemed  to  be  impregnable;  as  a  dwelling- 
house,  it  was  very  dismal  indeed.  It  was  totally  dark. 
The  captives  trembled  at  the  thought  of  being  im- 
prisoned in  such  a  place. 

The  wayfarers  proceeded  in  their  single  file  directly 
to  the  great  iron-bound  oaken  door  of  the  tower,  and 
those  who  were  mounted  got  down.  Ketch  assisted 
Aunt  Amanda  and  Freddie  to  alight,  and  having  done 
so  he  took  charge  of  the  mules  and  led  them  away. 

Captain  Lingo  took  from  his  breeches  pocket  a  small 
key  and  unlocked  the  door. 

"Be  so  kind  as  to  enter,"  he  said,  and  made  way 
for  the  captives  and  his  men. 

When  all  were  within,  including  Ketch,  who  had  now 
returned,  the  captain  locked  the  door  on  the  inside  and 
restored  the  key  to  his  pocket. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE    SOCIETY     FOR     PIRATICAL    RESEARCH 

THEY  were  in  a  dark  and  narrow  passage-way. 
As  they  stood  huddled  there  together,  a  candle 
glimmered  at  the  end  of  the  passage,  held  in  a 
tremulous  hand,  and  lighting  up  the  face  of  a  very 
old  woman.  She  advanced  towards  the  party  by  the 
door,  and  holding  her  candle  high  above  her  head  in- 
spected the  strangers  with  little  blinking  watery  eyes. 
She  was  short  and  bent;  she  hobbled  as  she  came  for- 
ward; her  face  was  seamed  with  deep  wrinkles,  and 
the  hand  which  held  the  candle  was  knotted  and 
gnarled;  wisps  of  dirty  grey  hair  hung  over  her  eyes. 

"Aha!  Mother  Ketch,"  said  Captain  Lingo.  "I 
wager  thou  didst  not  expect  us  so  soon.  What's  in 
the  larder?     We  are  famished." 

Old  Mother  Ketch  looked  at  her  son,  the  Practi- 
tioner, and  nodded  her  head  at  him  once  or  twice, 
blinking  her  eyes.  Then  she  fixed  her  eyes  on  Aunt 
Amanda,  and  seemed  to  forget  everybody  else. 

"Well?  well?"  said  Captain  Lingo,  impatiently. 
"Art  gomg  to  keep  us  here  all  night?  Come,  woman! 
Speak  up  directly!     What's  for  supper,  eh?" 

Mother  Ketch  slowly  removed  her  eyes  from  Aunt 
Amanda,   and  looked  at  the  captain  steadily. 

"There's  nought  but  pigeons  and  mushrooms  and — " 
said  she. 

"Good  I"  said  the  captain.  "Then  we  will  have 
pigeon  pies;  one  for  each;  and  well  filled,  mind  you. 
Now  haste;  be  off." 

146 


SOCIETY  FOR  PIRATICAL  RESEARCH  147 

Mother  Ketch  turned  and  hobbled  slowly  down  the 
passage,  and  the  glimmer  of  her  candle  disappeared. 

"Follow  me,"  said  Captain  Lingo. 

The  six  pirates  vanished  somewhere  in  the  dark- 
ness, and  the  others  followed  Captain  Lingo  up  a 
winding  stair.  At  the  top  was  a  heavy  door,  which 
he  unlocked  with  his  key,  and  locked  again  on  the  in- 
side after  his  guests  had  passed  through.  He  then  led 
them  down  a  dark  passage-way,  and  turning  to  the 
right  unlocked  a  door  with  his  key  and  threw  it  open. 

They  were  in  a  large  dining-room,  on  the  table  of 
which  were  numerous  candles,  which  the  captain 
lighted.  In  one  wall  was  an  opening  for  a  dumb-waiter 
for  sending  up  food  from  the  kitchen  below.  The 
party  seated  themselves  at  the  table,  and  after  a  con- 
siderable time  Ketch  entered,  a  napkin  on  his  arm,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  dumb-waiter  rose  from  the  kitchen, 
and  the  meal  commenced. 

Ketch  waited  on  the  table.  Besides  pigeon  pies 
there  were  mushrooms,  a  lettuce  salad,  hot  biscuit,  and 
excellent  coffee.  Ketch  placed  the  first  pigeon  pie  be- 
fore the  captain,  and  Aunt  Amanda  noticed  that  he 
examined  the  top  of  it  carefully  as  he  did  so.  She  ob- 
served that  he  examined  the  top  of  each  pie  carefully 
before  he  placed  It,  until  he  had  put  one  before  her- 
self, after  which  he  put  the  others  about  without  look- 
ing at  them.  She  examined  the  top  of  her  own  pie 
herself,  to  see  what  Ketch  could  have  been  looking  at. 
She  saw  in  the  center  of  it  a  tiny  figure  made  of  very 
brown  dough,  and  as  she  looked  closer  it  seemed  to 
have  the  shape  of  a  tiny  key.  She  glanced  at  the  other 
pies,  and  none  of  them  bore  any  mark  of  this  kind. 

Everyone  set  to  with  a  good  will,  and  Aunt  Amanda 
opened  her  pie.  She  remembered  Ketch's  caution,  and 
she  prodded  it  secretly  with  her  fork  before  taking  a 
bite.  At  the  bottom  her  fork  touched  something  hard. 
She  Immediately  began  to  put  the  contents  of  her  pie 


148  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

on  her  plate,  and  she  did  so  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave 
the  hard  object  beneath  the  rest.  In  the  course  of  the 
meal,  she  dropped  a  portion  of  the  pie  to  the  floor, 
and  stooped  to  pick  it  up.  As  she  did  so,  she  man- 
aged to  take  the  hard  object  from  her  plate  and  conceal 
it  in  her  lap.      It  was   a  key. 

When  the  meal  was  over,  the  captain  led  his  guests 
forth  to  their  respective  bed-rooms,  each  carrying  a 
lighted  candle  from  the  table.  At  the  top  of  a  stair 
was  a  closed  door,  which  he  unlocked  with  his  key, 
and  locked  after  the  others  had  passed  through.  Along 
the  passage  which  ran  from  this  door  were  doors  at 
intervals  in  the  walls,  and  these  he  opened,  one  after 
another,  showing  one  of  his  guests  each  time  into  a 
bedroom  and  leaving  him  there.  On  the  stair.  Aunt 
Amanda  had  whispered  into  Toby's  ear  the  words, 
"Don't  go  to  bed.  Pass  it  along."  And  these  words 
had  been  passed  in  a  whisper  from  one  to  another  of 
the  captives. 

Aunt  Amanda,  in  her  own  room,  now  sat  herself 
down  to  wait.  She  blew  out  her  candle,  and  sat  watch- 
ing the  shaft  of  moonlight  which  came  through  the 
slit  that  served  for  a  window.  She  must  have  fallen 
asleep,  for  she  came  to  herself  with  a  start,  and  found 
the  shaft  of  moonlight  gone.  She  limped  to  the  door, 
and  found  it  locked.  She  took  from  her  dress  the 
pigeon-pie  key  and  unlocked  the  door.  The  passage- 
way outside  was  silent  and  dark.  She  felt  her  way 
along  the  wall  to  the  next  door,  and  found  it  locked. 
She  quietly  unlocked  it  with  her  key.  Toby  was  sit- 
ting within,  waiting.  He  rose  without  a  word,  and 
followed  her.  They  tiptoed  from  door  to  door,  find- 
ing each  one  locked,  and  silently  released  each  of  the 
prisoners. 

The  key  fitted  every  lock  on  their  way  down  stairs. 
They  reached  the  ground  floor  without  an  accident,  and 
there  in  the  passage  which  they  had  first  seen  they 


SOCIETY  FOR  PIRATICAL  RESEARCH  149 

stopped  to  listen.  They  heard  the  click  of  a  latch  at 
the  rear;  a  door  there  opened  quietly  on  a  crack  and 
a  light  shone  through;  every  heart  stopped  beating 
for  a  moment.  The  door  opened  wider,  and  a  lighted 
candle  appeared,  and  over  it  the  wrinkled  face  of  an 
old  woman;  she  peered  out  into  the  passage,  shading 
the  candle  with  a  trembling  hand;  the  party  of  quak- 
ing runaways  stood  as  still  as  mice,  and  held  their 
breath;  the  old  woman  blinked  for  a  moment  into  the 
darkness,  and  blew  out  her  candle.  All  was  dark 
again,  and  the  latch  of  the  door  clicked. 

The  runaways  lost  no  time.  They  crept  silently 
but  rapidly  to  the  entrance  door.  Aunt  Amanda 
unlocked  and  opened  it,  and  they  pressed  out  hurriedly. 
They  were  standing  on  the  grass  in  a  flood  of  moon- 
light. 

Aunt  Amanda,  whose  lameness  had  been  almost  for- 
gotten in  her  excitement,  now  leaned  on  Toby,  who 
was  holding  Freddie's  hand,  and  who  led  the  way  to 
the  rim  of  the  forest  where  the  trail  lay.  There  was 
some  difficulty  in  finding  the  trail,  but  they  did  find 
it  at  last,  and  they  filed  into  the  forest.  They  had 
not  gone  more  than  twenty  yards  when  Toby,  who 
was  in  advance,  saw  a  great  black  object  directly  across 
their  path.  He  went  forward  cautiously,  in  spite  of 
his  alarm,  and  breathed  a  sigh  of  joy  when  he  saw 
what  it  was;  it  was  a  mule,  saddled  and  bridled,  and 
tied  to  a  bush.  Further  on  were  other  mules,  all 
tethered;  there  were  ten  In  all,  of  which  eight  were 
saddled  and  two  were  laden  with  packs. 

"Blessings  on  that  Ketch,"  whispered  Aunt  Amanda. 

In  a  moment  the  entire  party  were  mounted.  In 
another  moment  they  were  going  along  the  trail  at  a 
fast  walk.  The  mules  knew  the  way,  and  there  was 
now  no  danger  of  going  astray  In  the  forest.  Only, 
where  were  they  to  go,  after  all  ?  If  the  pirates  should 
catch  them,  eveiything  would  soon  be  over.     If  they 


150  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

should  manage  to  elude  the  pirates,  they  would  still  be 
lost  in  the  wilderness  of  this  unknown  Island.  What 
was  to  become  of  them  not  one  could  tell.  The  future 
seemed  very  dark  indeed. 

Once  or  twice  they  paused,  to  listen  for  sounds  of 
pursuit;  but  they  heard  nothing;  not  a  sound  disturbed 
the  stillness;  and  the  little  moonlight  which  filtered  here 
and  there  through  the  trees  seemed  to  make  the  dark- 
ness more  intense. 

They  had  gone  about  half  a  mile,  and  were  plodding 
along  in  drowsy  silence,  when  suddenly,  out  of  the  tall 
bushes  beside  the  trail,  seven  dark  figures  sprang  upon 
them  and  seized  the  bridles  of  their  mules. 

"Ah!"  cried  Toby.     "We  are  lost!     The  pirates!" 

The  mules  stood  stock  still. 

"It's  no  use,"  said  Toby.  "We  can't  escape.  They 
are  armed,  and  we  are  not.  All  right,  Captain  Lingo, 
don't  strike;  we  surrender.  We'll  go  back  with  you; 
don't  strike." 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  a  voice  which  none  of 
them  had  ever  heard  before.     "Are  you  pirates?" 

"Ain't  you  pirates  yourselves?"  cried  Aunt  Amanda. 

"What?"  said  the  voice.  "Is  there  a  lady  here?  In 
that  case,  you  are  probably  not  pirates.  Perhaps  we 
have  been  too  hasty.      I  beg  your  pardon." 

"Who  are  you  ?"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 
'      "Do  you  admit  that  you  are  not  pirates?"  said  the 
voice. 

"Admit  it!"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "We  vow  and  de- 
clare it!    The  very  idea  !" 

"I  am  sorry  to  hear  it,"  said  the  voice.  "We  are 
deeply  disappointed.  We  of  course  cannot  doubt  the 
word  of  a  lady,  but  we  were  almost  sure  we  had  found 
them.  We  have  been  searching  for  pirates  for  a  long 
time,  and  we  were  advised  that  they  lived  somewhere 
near  here.     We  must  have  missed  our  way.      Could 


SOCIETY  FOR  PIRATICAL  RESEARCH  151 

you  perhaps  direct  us?  It  is  a  place  called  High 
Dudgeon." 

"You  bet  we  could,"  said  Toby,  "but  we  won't.  We 
are  running  away  from  there,  and  you  had  better  run 
too." 

"Then  perhaps  you  happen  to  know  the  whereabouts 
of  a  place  called  Low  Dudgeon,  where  the  pirates  for- 
merly lived?" 

"We  do,"  said  Toby.  "You  are  about  half-way  now 
between  High  Dudgeon  and  Low  Dudgeon;  and  you 
had  better  get  out  of  this  neighborhood  as  fast  as  you 
can." 

"This  Is  very  interesting,"  said  the  voice.  "I  feel 
that  you  will  be  able  to  give  us  some  valuable  infor- 
mation. If  you  have  no  objection,  we  will  walk  behind 
you  until  we  come  to  a  place  where  there  is  more  light, 
when  we  will  have  a  few  minutes'  conversation  on  this 
interesting  subject." 

The  seven  dark  figures  stood  aside,  and  the  mules 
moved  onward.     The  seven  figures  walked  behind. 

In  five  minutes  they  reached  a  patch  of  ground  where 
the  moon  shone  brightly  through  the  trees,  and  the 
riders  drew  in  their  animals,  and  turned  to  look  at  the 
figures  who  now  marched  sedately  up  beside  them. 
These  figures  stood  in  a  row  facing  the  riders,  and  six 
of  them  turned  their  heads  to  the  right,  looking  towards 
the  first  in  the  row,  who  was  probably  their  leader. 

They  were  seven  tall  men,  dressed  in  black  frock 
coats  and  striped  trousers,  with  pearl-gray  spats;  but 
instead  of  high  silk  hats  each  wore  a  small  black  skull- 
cap, as  more  convenient,  no  doubt,  for  their  rough  life 
in  the  forest.  It  could  be  seen  that  they  were  no  or- 
dinary men;  they  looked  like  professors  at  college; 
their  faces  were  thoughtful  and  even  intellectual;  each 
one  wore  spectacles;  they  squinted  as  if  from  too  much 
poring  over  books  by  lamplight.  The  one  at  the  head 
of  the  row  was  fat,  with  mutton-chop  whiskers,  and 


152  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

his  frock  coat  was  buttoned  tight  over  a  round  stom- 
ach. He  spoke  in  the  same  voice  which  they  had 
heard  in  the  dark. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  he.  "If  you  will  be  so 
kind  as  to  direct  us  either  to  High  Dudgeon  or  to  Low 
Dudgeon,  we  will  not  fail  to  gratefully  acknowledge — " 

"Aha!"  said  one  of  the  others,  in  a  playful  tone. 
"A  split  infinitive,   Professor!" 

"I  beg  your  pardon.  A  slight  inadvertence.  To 
acknowledge  gratefully  your  kind — " 

"There's  no  time  to  talk  now,"  said  Toby.  "We  are 
running  away  from  these  bloodthirsty  cut-throats,  and 
if  they  catch  us  we  are  dead,  as  sure  as  you're  born. 
I'll  tell  you  what  we  will  do.  We'll  all  keep  on  to 
Low  Dudgeon,  and  we'll  go  in  there,  if  we  can  get  in, 
and  decide  there  what  we  had  better  do.  It  looked 
like  a  strong  tower,  and  we  would  certainly  be  as 
safe  inside  there  as  out  of  doors,  if  the  pirates  should 
come  along." 

The  Professor  looked  down  the  line  of  his  com- 
panions. "What  is  the  sense  of  the  Committee  on  this 
proposal?"  said  he.  "Ah,  Very  good.  We  are 
agreed.     Proceed,  my  dear  sir." 

"One  minute,"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Excuse  my 
asking,  but  I  should  like  to  know  who  you  are,  any- 
way." 

The  Professor  waved  a  fat  hand  towards  his  com- 
panions, and  looking  at  Aunt  Amanda,  said: 

"We  belong,  madam,  to  the  Society  for  Piratical 
Research,  under  the  patronage  of  his  gracious  Majesty, 
the  King  of  this  Island.  You  behold  before  you  a 
committee  of  that  Society;  the  Committee  on  Doubtful 
and  Fabulous  Tales,  sometimes  called  for  the  sake  of 
brevity,  from  the  initials  of  its  title,  the  Daft  Com- 
mittee. As  Third  Vice-President  of  the  Society  for 
Piratical  Research,  I  have  the  honour  to  be  Chairman 
of  the  Daft  Committee.     The  seat  of  our  Society  is 


SOCIETY  FOR  PIRATICAL  RESEARCH  153 

far  from  here,  in  the  principal  city  of  this  kingdom,  the 
famous  City  of  Towers,  blest  as  the  residence  of  his 
gracious  Majesty,  the  most  learned  and  liberal  of 
princes.  Our  camp,  which  we  made  only  late  this 
evening,  lies  at  no  great  distance  from  this  spot.  We 
did  not  wish  to  delay  our  researches  until  morning, 
and  so,  as  Third  Vice-President  of  the  Society  for 
Piratical  Research,  and  Chairman  of  the  Daft  Com- 
mittee, I — " 

"Much  obliged,"  said  Toby.  "We've  no  time  to 
listen  to   any  more.     We  must  get  on." 

The  Daft  Committee,  led  by  the  Third  Vice-Presi- 
dent, fell  in  behind  the  mules,  and  the  whole  party 
moved  forward,  as  rapidly  as  the  mules  and  the  com- 
mittee  could  walk. 

Aunt  Amanda  felt  far  from  easy  at  the  prospect  of 
entering  Low  Dudgeon;  but  she  had  told  Toby  some- 
thing of  Ketch's  strange  words  and  manner  regarding 
that  place,  and  she  was  glad  to  leave  the  responsibil- 
ity to  him.  Their  dark  and  silent  progress  through 
the  forest  continued,  and  when  they  had  gone  what 
they  thought  must  have  been  about  half  a  mile,  they 
knew  they  must  be  near  their  destination.  Every  eye 
was  watchful  and  every  ear  was  alert.  A  grunt  from 
Toby  in  advance  notified  the  others  that  they  had  ar- 
rived, and  they  filed  out  of  the  forest  into  the  clear- 
ing, and  saw  before  them  the  squat  tower  of  Low 
Dudgeon  in  the  moonlight. 

The  same  light  as  before  appeared  from  within, 
through  the  upper  slits  in  the  side  of  the  tower.  As 
they  drew  in  their  mules  at  the  edge  of  the  clearing,  the 
Daft  Committee  came  up,  and  the  Third  Vice-Presi- 
dent spoke  in  a  low  voice. 

"I  presume,"  he  said,  "that  this  is  Low  Dudgeon. 
I  have  heard  of  it,  but  I  have  never  seen  it.  It  was 
formerly,  some  hundred  years  ago,  the  headquarters 
of  the  pirates.      But  something  occurred  here,   I   do 


154  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

not  know  what,  which  impelled  the  pirates  to  move. 
They  accordingly  built  themselves  a  much  better  resi- 
dence, known  as  High  Dudgeon,  where  I  understand 
they  now  live.  I  do  not  believe  that  Low  Dudgeon 
has  been  occupied  smce.  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  turning 
to  his  companions,  "we  are  fortunate  in  having  found 
this  interesting  place  at  last,  after  so  much  trouble. 
It  is  the  very  spot  in  which  to  begin  our  researches." 

A  murmur  of  approval  arose  from  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  committee. 

*'I  don't  know  whether  it's  occupied  or  not,"  said 
Aunt  Amanda.  "Ketch  told  me  that  no  one  lives 
there,  and  that  there's  thirteen  of  'em;  and  he  seemed 
to  be  afraid  of  the  place.  And  there's  a  light  up 
there.      I  don't  understand  it." 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  Third  Vice-President,  "is 
it  the  sense  of  the  committee  that  we  begin  our  re- 
searches in  Low  Dudgeon?" 

Every  member  of  the  Daft  Committee  murmured 
his  assent. 

"If  we  go  into  the  forest,"  said  Toby,  "we  may  be 
caught;  if  we  go  in  here,  we  are  safe  for  a  while,  any- 
way, and  we  can  decide  there  what  we  had  better  do; 
maybe  these  gentlemen  can  send  for  help.  Anyway, 
let's  get  in  if  we  can." 

The  riders  dismounted  from  their  mules  and  tied 
them  to  trees;  in  another  moment  the  whole  party 
were  standing  before  the  door  of  the  tower. 

"Better  knock,"  said  Toby. 

They  knocked,  and  knocked  again;  there  was  no 
answer. 

"Aunt  Amanda,"  said  Toby,  "try  your  key." 

Aunt  Amanda  tried  the  key,  and  it  fitted;  she  turned 
it,  and  the  lock  snapped  back.  Toby  thrust  open  the 
door. 

The  company  entered,  and  Toby  took  the  key  and 
locked  the  door  behind  them.     They  were  in  a  dark 


SOCIETY  FOR  PIRATICAL  RESEARCH  155 

passage,  near  the  foot  of  a  winding  stair.  "We  had 
better  go  up  where  the  light  is,"  said  Toby,  in  a 
whisper. 

They  went  cautiously  and  noiselessly  up  the  stair 
to  the  landing.  There  they  found  themselves  in  a  hall, 
and  at  a  little  distance  down  the  hall  they  saw  a  dim 
light  shining  under  a  closed  door.  "There  it  is,"  said 
Toby.     "Come  on." 

With  the  same  breathless  caution  they  tiptoed  to  the 
door.  It  had  no  lock,  and  Toby  turned  the  knob  and 
slowly  pushed  it  open. 

"Ah!"  said  Toby,  in  a  frightened  gasp,  arid  started 
back. 

The  others  crowded  at  his  back  and  pushed  him 
forward.  The  Third  Vice-President  of  the  Society  for 
Piratical  Research  brushed  past  him  into  the  room,  and 
the  other  six  members  followed  him.  The  party  of 
fugitives  moved  slowly  in  after  them. 

In  the  middle  of  the  room  was  a  large  round  table. 
In  the  center  of  this  table  stood  some  twenty  wax 
tapers  in  silver  candlesticks,  burning  brightly;  and 
seated  around  the  table  were  thirteen  men. 

Not  one  of  these  men  moved  as  the  party  came  into 
the  room.  Not  a  limb  nor  muscle  stirred.  The  Third 
Vice-President  coughed  aloud.  Still  none  of  the  men 
moved  so  much  as  a  finger.  The  whole  party  came 
forward  to  the  table  and  stood  close  behind  the  thirr 
teen  men  and  examined  them.     They  were  dead. 

They  were  sitting  in  all  positions.  Food  was  be- 
fore them,  as  if  they  were  in  the  midst  of  a  meal. 
Some  were  leaning  across  the  table  as  if  in  conversa- 
tion. Some  were  in  the  act  of  cutting  meat  on  their 
plates,  some  in  the  act  of  putting  forks  to  their  mouths. 
Every  face  was  ghastly  white,  and  every  eye  was  fixed 
in  a  vacant  stare. 

"See !"  said  Toby,  in  a  whisper,  pointing  to  their 
backs. 


156  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

From  the  back  of  each  was  sticking  the  handle  of  a 
knife,  the  blade  of  which  was  buried  in  the  flesh  to 
the  hilt. 

Aunt  Amanda  sank  on  Toby's  shoulder  for  a  mo- 
ment, but  she  soon  recovered.  Freddie  grasped  Toby's 
hand. 

''Look,"  said  Toby.      "They  must  be  pirates." 

Each  head  was  bound  with  a  bright-colored  kerchief, 
and  as  the  horrified  company  examined  the  dead  men 
closer,  it  was  seen  that  they  all  wore  knee  breeches. 
A  long  dagger  was  sticking  upright  in  the  table,  just 
under  the  candles.  Pinned  by  this  dagger  to  the  table 
was  a  large  sheet  of  white  paper,  and  there  was 
evidently  writing   on   it. 

The  Third  Vice-President  had  apparently  little  fear 
of  thirteen  dead  men;  he  went  directly  to  the  table, 
and  reaching  across  between  two  of  the  stiff  figures 
drew  the  dagger  from  the  table  and  took  from  the 
dagger's  point  the  sheet  of  paper.  He  adjusted  his 
spectacles,  turned  his  back  to  the  candles  so  as  to  ob- 
tain a  good  light  on  the  paper,  and  read  from  it  aloud: 

"Thus  does  Captain  Lingo  serve  All  Traitors," 

For  a  moment  there  was  silence.  Then  Aunt 
Amanda  spoke  sharply. 

"The  wicked  villain!"  said  she.  "Thirteen  of  his 
men  dead  at  once,  by  his  own  hand!  No  wonder  the 
six  that  are  left  are  afraid  of  him!  No  wonder  they 
don't  like  this  place !  Oh  the  wicked  scoundrel  1  If 
I  had  him  here,  I  declare  I  would — " 

She  paused  suddenly  and  listened.  There  was  a 
stealthy  creaking  on  the  stairs.  It  grew  more  distinct; 
then  it  stopped,  and  there  was  silence. 

The  thirteen  in  their  chairs  made  no  motion  what- 
ever; but  the  living  turned  with  one  accord  towards 
the  open  doorway  of  the  room.  They  waited  with 
bated  breath.  In  another  moment  Captain  Lingo 
himself  was  standing  in  the  doorway,  a  pistol  in  his 


SOCIETY  FOR  PIRATICAL  RESEARCH  157 

right  hand  and  a  knife  in  his  left.  Without  a  word 
he  advanced  into  the  room,  and  behind  him  came  his 
six  men,  shrinking  obviously  away  from  the  sight  of 
their  thirteen  murdered  friends. 

As  Captain  Lingo  came  to  a  stand  before  his  recent 
prisoners,  his  eyes  blazed,  and  with  his  right  thumb  he 
cocked  his  pistol.  Each  of  his  men  held  a  pistol  in 
his  right  hand  and  a  cutlass  in  his  left,  and  each  cocked 
his  pistol  with  his  thumb. 

The  Third  Vice-President  of  the  Society  for  Piratical 
Research,  who  seemed  in  no  wise  disconcerted,  stepped 
forward  and  addressed  the  pirate. 

"Captain  Lingo,  I  presume?" 

"Ay,  ay;  be  quick.  I  must  finish  this  business 
quickly." 

"My  committee  and  myself  have  been  long  anxious, 
sir,  in  the  interest  of  science,  to  make  your  acquaint- 
ance.    I  rejoice  at  this  opportunity." 

"Oh,  indeed,"  said  Captain  Lingo,  drily. 

"Yes,  sir;  I  assure  you  I  am  delighted.  I  believe 
I  have  the  pleasure  of  speaking  to  a  subject  of  King 
James  the  Second." 

"Ay,  ay,"  said  Lingo,  eyeing  him  suspiciously.  "What 
then?" 

"Then  the  records  of  our  Society  are  vindicated. 
They  go  back,  my  dear  sir,  some  two  hundred  years; 
and  they  contain,  from  various  sources,  an  unbroken  ac- 
count of  Captain  Lingo  and  his  exploits  from  the  time 
of  James  the  Second  to  the  present.  But  the  sources  of 
our  information  were  not  always  reliable;  some  doubts 
were  thrown  upon  our  records  by  jealous  persons  out- 
side the  Society;  and  as  it  is  the  special  business  of  the 
Committee  on  Doubtful  and  Fabulous  Tales  to  look 
into  such  matters,  the  Committee  is  here  before  you 
at  the  present  moment  in  the  interest  of  truth.  No 
member  of  our  Society  has  ever  seen  Captain  Lingo, 
and  the  jealous  persons   I   have  mentioned'  pretend 


is8  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

that  no  such  person  has  ever  existed.  The  chief  mis- 
sion of  our  Committee  is  to  vindicate  our  records  by 
a  sight  of  Captain  Lingo  himself.  Thanks  to  you,  sir, 
that  has  now  been  done.  Our  next  mission  is  to  de- 
termine for  our  Society  this  most  important  question : 
are  you  aHve  or  dead.'"' 

At  this,  the  captain's  brows  came  together  in  a  ter- 
rible frown;  the  scar  across  his  cheek  and  chin  turned 
very  white;  and  he  glared  under  his  eyebrows  danger- 
ously at  the  complacent  Third  Vice-President.  His 
lips  parted,  showing  his  white  teeth  clenched  tight  to- 
gether. He  started  to  speak  through  his  clenched 
teeth,  and  leveled  his  pistol  straight  at  the  Third  Vice- 
President's  breast;  but  at  that  moment  a  cry  from  the 
Churchwarden  startled  everybody. 

"Bless  my  soul!  Why  didn't  I  never  once  think  of 
this  before  ?  These  men  ain't  real  persons  at  all !  How 
could  they  be,  after  two  hundred  years?  They're  no 
better  than  wicked  spirits!  That's  what  they  are, 
wicked  spirits!  Why  didn't  we  think  of  that  before? 
Aha!  my  fine  friends,  Fve  got  a  little  medicine  here 
for  you  !    Ha  !  ha  !" 

He  drew  forth  from  his  back  pocket  a  little  per- 
fume bottle,  and  waved  it  over  his  head. 

"Hurrah!"  he  cried.  "Hurrah  for  the  Odour  of 
Sanctity!"  And  with  these  words  thei  Churchwarden 
uncorked  the  bottle,  and  sprinkled  a  few  drops  of  his 
perfume  on  the  floor,  directly  at  the  feet  of  Captain 
Lingo. 

A  sharp  odour  instantly  filled  the  air;  so  sharp  that 
it  brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  everyone.  Captain 
Lingo  and  his  men  stepped  quickly  backward,  but  it 
was  too  late.  A  look  of  pained  surprise  crept  over 
their  faces,  and  remained  fixed  there.  Their  feet 
stood  rooted  to  the  floor,  and  the  hands  which  held 
the  cutlasses  and  pistols  stiffened  and  became  rigid. 
Not  one  of  them  could  move  an  eye-lash.     Their  out- 


SOCIETY  FOR  PIRATICAL  RESEARCH  159 

lines  began  to  waver;  their  faces  began  to  be  dim 
and  vague,  as  if  covered  with  close  white  veils;  from 
their  outsides  inward  they  slowly  faded,  melted,  dis- 
solved; nothing  remained  of  any  of  them  but  a  wraith, 
a  vapor,  a  puff  of  smoke,  remotely  in  the  shape  of  a 
human  being;  and  then  that  also  vanished;  nothing  re- 
mained; the  place  where  they  had  been  was  empty. 

All  eyes  turned  to  the  table  where  the  thirteen  mur- 
dered pirates  had  been  sitting.  They  were  gone.  Their 
chairs  were  vacant. 

The  Churchwarden  calmly  put  the  stopper  in  his 
bottle  and  restored  it  to  his  pocket. 

"Humph!"  said  he.  "Nothing  like  Odour  of  Sanc- 
tity. Never  knew  it  to  fail.  No  harm  to  human 
persons,  but  no  wicked  spirit  as  ever  lived  can  stand 
against  it;  and  a  blessed  good  thing  the  bottle  didn't 
break  as  we  came  down  the  waterfall.  No  perfumery 
in  this  world  like  Odour  of  Sanctity  1" 


CHAPTER  XIX 


A    KNOCK    AT    THE    DOOR 


THE  Third  Vice-President  and  his  fellow-mem- 
bers of  the  Daft  Committee  seated  themselves 
in  the  chairs  just  vacated  by  the  thirteen  mur- 
dered pirates.  Nothing  could  have  persuaded  any  of 
the  others  to  sit  in  those  dreadful  seats;  but  no  feeling 
of  this  sort  appeared  to  disturb  the  Committee,  and 
they  evidently  saw  no  reason  why  they  should  not  be 
comfortable. 

The  Third  Vice-President  drummed  on  the  table  with 
his  fingers,  and  frowned  to  himself  in  silence.  One  of 
the  Committee,  taking  his  skull-cap  from  his  head  and 
smoothing  it  thoughtfully  with  his  hand,  glanced  up 
at  the  Chairman  and  said: 

"I  fear.  Professor,  that  our  hopes  are  dashed.  It 
is  nothing  less  than  disastrous." 

"You  are  right,  my  dear  sir,"  said  the  Chairman. 
"It  is  a  terrible  misfortune;  terrible  indeed.  And  just 
when  we  were  on  the  point  of — " 

"What!"  exclaimed  Toby  in  astonishment.  "Do 
you  mean  to  say  you  are  sorry  those  rascally  pirates 
are  gone?" 

"My  dear  sir,"  said  the  Chairman,  very  patiently, 
"I  am  finding  no  fault.  I  do  not  wish  to  blame  any- 
one. The  loss  of  these  pirates  to  science  is  one  that 
can  never  be  compensated.  The  Society  for  Piratical 
Research  Is  now  at  an  end.  There  are  no  other  pirates 
on  this  Island,  and  you  must  see  for  yourselves  that 
without  pirates  our  society  must  perish.  It  Is  a 
woful— " 

1 60 


A  KNOCK  AT  THE  DOOR  i6i 

"Well,  I  never!"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Of  all 
things!  Do  you  dare  to  sit  there  and  tell  me  you'd 
rather  see  us  all  murdered  by  pirates  than — " 

"Be  calm,  my  friends,"  said  the  Third  Vice-Presi- 
dent, placidly.  "I  have  already  said  that  I  do  not 
wish  to  find  fault.  I  desire  to  be  generous.  It  is  my 
wish.  In  fact,  I  forgive  you  freely.  Whatever  bit- 
terness you  may  have  caused  us,  we  are  willing  to  be- 
lieve that  it  was  not  intentional.  The  Daft  Com- 
mittee forgives  you;  freely.  Let  us  be  peaceful.  It 
only  remains  to  decide  what  steps  we  shall  take  to  meet 
the  future.  I  submit  to  you  this  question :  whether  we 
shall  first  go  to  the  pirates'  home  in  High  Dudgeon,  or 
return  at  once  to  the  City  of  Towers,  to  confess  our 
failure  and  receive  our — Hark!  I  thought  I  heard  a 
knock." 

Everyone  listened.  There  was  indeed  the  sound  of 
knocking,  muffled  but  quite  audible.  The  group  stand- 
ing about  the  table  looked  from  one  to  another  in  si- 
lence. Was  this  some  new  danger?  Were  there  other 
pirates  to  be  reckoned  with?  The  Churchwarden  put 
his  hand  to  his  back  pocket,  to  be  ready  with  his  bottle. 

"I  think  it  comes  from  within  this  room,"  said  the 
Third  Vice-President. 

All  eyes  examined  the  room.  The  walls  were  un- 
broken, except  by  window-slits  on  one  side,  the  open 
doorway  on  another,  and  on  a  third  a  closed  door, 
which  no  one  had  before  observed.  Toby  walked 
over  to  this  closed  door,  and  placed  his  ear  against  it. 
A  muffled  knock  sounded  from  within. 

Toby  nodded  his  head  to  the  others,  and  tried  the 
door.  It  was  locked.  "Lend  me  your  key,  Aunt 
Amanda,"  said  he;  and  when  she  had  given  it  to  him 
he  inserted  it  in  the  lock  and  turned  it  and  threw  wide 
the  door.  Inside  was  a  dark  closet  hung  with  cloaks. 
On  the  floor  sat  a  man. 

Toby  stepped  back  in  amazement.     The  man  sat 


1 62  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

motionless,  his  legs  crossed,  gazing  out  into  the  lighted 
room.  After  a  second  or  two  he  rose,  and  stood  in 
the  doorway,  rubbing  his  eyes.  He  said  not  a  word, 
but  continued  to  rub  his  eyes  untiL  they  evidently 
became  used  to  the  light,  and  gave  two  or  three  sniffs, 
as  if  he  smelt  an  odour,  and  found  it  far  from 
agreeable. 

He  was  a  thickset  man,  dressed  in  sailor's  clothes, 
in  no  way  like  the  clothes  the  pirates  had  worn.  His 
eyes  were  small  and  very  close  together;  his  nose  was 
broken  and  flat;  his  lower  jaw  stuck  out  beyond  his 
upper;  an  unpleasant  fellow  enough,  if  looks  were  any- 
thing. In  his  belt  he  carried  a  long  knife.  His  sailor 
collar  was  cut  low  in  front,  and  his  chest  was  tattooed 
in  red  and  blue  ink. 

As  he  hesitated  in  the  doorway,  sniffing  the  air  uneas- 
ily and  blinking  his  eyes,  the  Chairman  of  the  Daft 
Committee  spoke  in  his  calm  voice. 

"Come  in,  my  good  sir,"  said  he.  "I  should  like 
to  take  the  liberty  of  asking  you  a  few  questions." 

The  sailorman  walked  slowly  into  the  room  and 
looked  about  him. 

"What's  that  there  smell  in  the  air?"  said  he. 

"Nothing  only  my  Odour  of  Sanctity,"  said  the 
Churchwarden. 

"I  don't  like  it,"  said  the  sailorman. 

"I  can't  say  that  I  like  it  much  myself,"  said  the 
Third  Vice-President,  "but  it  Is  too  faint  now  to  be 
disagreeable.  Pray  be  seated,  sir."  One  of  the  Com- 
mittee rose  and  offered  the  sailorman  his  chair.  The 
sailor  sat  down  and  gazed  at  the  Third  Vice-President, 
who  went  on  with  his  speech.  "You  need  have  no  fear, 
sir;  If  Captain  Lingo  causes  you  any  uneasiness,  I  may 
tell  you  that  he  is  gone,  never  to  return;  and  all  his 
men  with  him;  even  the  thirteen  dead  men  who  were 
sitting  in  these  chairs  until  a  few  minutes  ago." 


A  KNOCK  AT  THE  DOOR  163 

"What!"  said  the  sailor.  "Has  them  thirteen  men 
been  a-sitting  here  all  these  years?" 

"My  dear  sir,"  said  the  Third  Vice-President,  "I  as- 
sure you  we  saw  them  with  our  own  eyes.  But  you  will 
perhaps  be  kind  enough  to  tell  us  who  you  are,  and 
how  you  came  to  be  locked  up  in  that  closet." 

"Humph!"  said  the  sailor,  hesitating.  "I  don't 
know  who  you  are,  nor  what  you're  doing  in  this  here 
place.  However,  if  Lingo's  gone,  and — Oh  well,  I 
might  as  well  tell  you.  By  the  looks  of  you,  I  ain't  got 
much  cause  to  be  afraid." 

"Your  courtesy  under  the  circumstances  will  be  much 
appreciated,"  said  the  Third  Vice-President. 

"Courtesy  be  blowed,"  said  the  sailorman.  "Well, 
here  goes.  I'm  Matthew  Speak,  able-bodied  seaman, 
of  the  brig  Cotton  Mather,  out  of  New  Bedford, 
Reuben  Higginson,  master." 

"What!"  cried  Aunt  Amanda,  almost  shrieking. 
"Are  you — ?  The  Cotton  Mather!  Reuben  Higgin- 
son! Did  you  know  him?  It  ain't  possible!  I  can't 
believe  it!" 

"It  ain't  nothing  to  me  whether  you  believes  it  or 
not.  I  shipped  with  Reuben  Higginson  at  New  Bed- 
ford and  landed  here  with  him  and  his  crew  on  this 
same  identical  Island,  all  tight  and  safe;  here  on  Cor- 
rection Island,  as  the  cap'n  called  it." 

"What!"  cried  Aunt  Amanda  again.  "Is  this  Cor- 
rection Island?  Well,  I  never!  Here  we  are  on 
Correction  Island  after  all,  and  we  never  knew  it!  Are 
you  sure?" 

"That's  what  he  called  it,  believe  me  or  not.  It 
ain't  nothing  to  me,  but  I  seen  It  on  the  map  I  sold 
to  Mizzen,  and  the  cap'n  wrote  it  there  in  his  own 
handwrite;  that's  all  I  know;  but  maybe  if  you'd  hunt 
up  this  here  Lemuel  Mizzen,  a  sailor  with  a  patch 
on  one  eye  and — " 

"Well,  of  all  things!"  exclaimed  Aunt  Amanda. 


1 64  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"By  crackey,"  said  Toby,  "I  wouldn't  'a'  believed  it. 
Lemuel  Mizzen!" 

"Perhaps  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  tell  us — "  began 
the  Third  Vice-President. 

"Freddie,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "have  you  got  the 
map?"  ^ 

"Yes'm,"  said  Freddie,  and  produced  it  from  his 
pocket. 

Aunt  Amanda  took  it  from  him  and  spread  it  open 
on  the  table  before  Matthew  Speak.  The  sailorman 
glanced  at  it  and  nodded  his  head. 

"That's  it,"  said  he.  "I  don't  know  how  you  coiiie 
by  it,  but  that's  it.  Higginson  was  lost  with  the  Cotton 
Mather  in  a  storm  on  his  way  back  to  New  Bedford, 
and  a  lucky  chance  for  me  I  wasn't  aboard.  A  good 
while  afterwards  a  fisherman  off  of  this  here  Island 
picked  up  the  map  at  sea  in  a  bottle,  and  I  got  it  off'n 
him;  he  squealed  a  good  bit  when  I  stuck  him,  but 
I  got  it,  right  enough.  And  then  along  comes  Mizzen, 
me  being  in  hiding,  and  I  sold  it  to  him  for  a  set  of 
false  whiskers  and  a  tattoo-needle." 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  Freddie  eagerly.  "Mr.  Mizzen 
told  me  about  it." 

"When  Higginson  sailed  away  from  here  in  the  Cot- 
ton Mather,  I  didn't  go  with  him.  I  ran  away.  Ay, 
a  runaway  sailor,  that's  what  I  am.  I  liked  the  Span- 
ish Main,  and  I  didn't  like  Higginson;  nor  yet  he  didn't 
like  me,  neither.  But  before  he  sailed,  I  left  my  mark 
on  him,  I  did ;  four  of  his  teeth  out  and  a  black  eye ;  and 
I  won't  say  but  what  he  broke  my  nose  for  me  too, 
right  enough.  For  a  Quaker,  he  hit  pretty  good.  And 
I  stole  this  bit  of  writing  from  him;  probably  it  ain't 
no  account,  but  Higginson  he  seemed  tO'  set  great  store 
by  it,  so  I  stole  it,  and  here  It  is."  He  took  from  his 
pocket  a  sheet  of  folded  paper  and  laid  It  on  the 
table  beside  the  map;  it  was  much  soiled,  and  was  evi- 
dently very  old.     He  sniffed  the  air  once  or  twice, 


A  KNOCK  AT  THE  DOOR  1 6s 

and  frowned.  "I  don't  like  this  here  smell.  It's  no 
good.  I  say  I  don't  like  it.  It  makes  me  feel  queer. 
Well,  I  guess  the  old  man  thought  this  here  bit  of 
writing  was  safe  ni  his  locker  right  up  to  the  last;  I 
expect  he  never  missed  it  until  he  went  to  put  it  into  the 
bottle  with  the  map  and  throw  it  overboard."  He 
shook  the  paper  in  his  hand  and  dropped  it  again  on 
the  table.  "And  then,"  he  went  on,  "I  fell  in  with 
Lingo,  and  joined  his  crew." 

"Look  here,"  said  Toby,  "how  long  ago  was  all 
this?" 

"How  do  I  know?"  said  Speak.  "I've  been  shut 
up  in  that  there  cupboard  so  long  I  ain't  got  no  account 
of  time.  But  I  remember  just  before  we  sailed  from 
New  Bedford  there  was  a  lot  of  crazy  people  talkin' 
about  getting  up  a  fight  with  England  and  breakin' 
loose  from  her,  and  being  free  and  independent  and 
what  not — a  great  pack  of  foolish  nonsense — and 
something  or  other  about  some  kind  of  a  tea-party 
in  Boston — I  dunno.  I  ain't  never  heard  what  come 
of  it.  Most  likely  nothin'  at  all.  I  guess  it  must  have 
been  a  good  while  ago.     I  dunno." 

The  Churchwarden  started,  and  put  his  hand  to  his 
back  pocket.     "Are  you  as  old  as  that?"  said  he. 

"No  older  nor  what  you  be,  old  fat-chaps,"  said 
Speak.  "You  attend  to  your  own  age,  and  I'll  attend 
to  mine." 

"Never  mind,"  said  the  Third  Vice-President, 
hastily.  "Pray  tell  us  how  you  came  to  be  locked  up 
in  that  closet." 

"Gimme  a  chanc't,"  said  Speak.  "I'd  tell  you  If 
you'd  gimme  a  chanc't.  I  joined  Lingo.  I  served  him 
true  and  faithful,  and  many  a  prize  we've  taken  to- 
gether, and  watched  many  a  smart  lad  walk  the  plank, 
that's  a  fact.  Well,  thirteen  of  his  men  laid  a  plan 
to  go  to  his  treasure-cave  where  all  his  treasure  was 
hid,  and  make  off  with  it;  steal  it;  ay,  ay;  steal  it,  mind 


1 66  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

you;  as  bad  as  that.  Now  me,  I  ain't  got  no  patience 
with  dishonesty;  I'm  all  for  being  honest,  I  am;  so, 
being  as  1  had  learned  about  this  here  plan,  I  went 
and  told  the  captain.  He  never  winked  an  eye,  not 
him,  but  off  he  sent  his  other  six  men,  out  of  the  way, 
and  made  a  fine  supper  here  for  them  thirteen  and 
sat  down  with  them  to  it;  ay,  that  he  did.  But  first 
he  gets  a  little  white  powder  out  of  a  silver  box  and 
takes  it  to  Mother  Ketch  and  orders  her  to  put  it  in 
their  food;  and  she  won't,  not  she,  and  nothing  he 
can  do  can  make  her;  so  he  comes  to  me,  and  being  as 
I  hates  dishonesty,  1  puts  the  powder  in  their  food, 
and  they  eats  it.  Only,  being  kind  of  nervous,  as  you 
might  say,  I  spills  about  two-thirds  of  it  on  my  way 
upstairs  in  the  dark;  and  there  ain't  enough  left  to  do 
the  work  complete.  What  was_left  I  put  in  the  food 
on  the  table,  and  at  that  minute  up  the  stairs  comes 
the  whole  thirteen  with  the  captain  at  their  head,  and 
I  whips  into  that  there  cupboard  and  shuts  the  door, 
a-trembling  in  my  boots  for  fear  of  what  the  captain's 
going  to  do  to  me  when  he  finds  out  the  powder  won't 
work  only  partly.  I  can  hear  'em  all  set  down  to  the 
table  laughin'  hearty,  and  the  captain's  voice  a-crackin' 
jokes  and  makin'  'em  feel  at  home;  but  after  a  bit  I 
don't  hear  nobody's  voice  but  only  the:  captain's,  be- 
cause of  the  white  powder  actin'  on  the  others  as  far 
as  it  could,  and  them  probably  a-settin'  up  stiff  and 
tongue-tied  in  their  chairs,  unable  to  move  a  hand,  be- 
cause of  the  mite  of  powder,  d'ye  see,  and  me  a-settin' 
quiet  in  the  dark  cupboard,  a-quakin'  all  over  and  won- 
derin'  what  the  captain  was  a-goin'  to  do  to  me.  And 
after  a  bit  I  don't  hear  the  captain's  voice  no  more, 
and  there  ain't  no  sound  at  all.  And  I  guess  the  party 
is  over.  And  in  another  minute  I  hears  a  key  turn  in 
the  lock  of  my  cupboard  door,  very  soft  and  easy,  and 
there  I  am  shut  up  and  locked  in  as  tight  as  pitch;  and 
there  I've  been  ever  since." 


A  KNOCK  AT  THE  DOOR  1 67 

"And  serve  you  jolly  well  right,  too,  hif  you  arsk 
me,"  said  Mr.  Punch,  with  great  disgust. 

"It's  the  wickedest  piece  of  business  all  round  I  ever 
heard  of  in  my  life,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  indignantly. 
"It's  my  opinion  you're  as  bad  as  any  of  them." 

"Worse,  if  anything,"  said  the  Churchwarden,  whose 
hand  was  still  on  his  back  pocket. 

"It's  a  pity  the  captain  didn't  knife  you  in  the  back 
with  the  rest  of  'em,"  said  Toby,  angrily. 

Speak's  little  eyes  flashed  fire.  He  drew  his  knife 
and  held  it  out  threateningly  in  his  hand,  and  started 
to  rise.  But  he  did  not  rise.  He  remained  fixed  in 
his  chair,  though  it  was  easy  to  see  that  he  was  trying 
,to  get  up.  He  sniffed  the  air,  and  his  head  remained 
fixed  in  the  act  of  sniffing.  The  hand  which  held  the 
knife  continued  to  hold  it  out,  without  moving.  A  look 
of  alarm  came  into  his  eyes.  It  was  evident  that  he 
had  smelled  the  Odour  of  Sanctity,  which  yet  lingered 
faintly  in  the  room.  His  outline  began  to  waver;  his 
face  became  vague;  his  features  ran  together;  he  took 
on  the  appearance  of  vapor;  and  there  in  the  chair  by 
the  table,  in  place  of  the  thick  and  solid  sailorman,  was 
an  almost  transparent  form  of  mist  or  smoke,  remotely 
in  the  shape  of  a  man. 

Everyone  waited  to  see  him  vanish.  The  form  still 
lingered;  it  did  not  disappear;  it  continued  to  sit  in  its 
chair  with  its  hand  extended,  holding  out  a  shadowy 
knife.  The  Odour  of  Sanctity  had  lost  its  full  power, 
and  what  remained  of  it  was  insufficient  to  make  him 
disappear. 

The  Churchwarden  pulled  out  his  bottle,  and  com- 
menced to  uncork  it. 

"Stay,"  said  the  Third  Vice-President,  holding  up 
his  hand.  "I  pray  you  stay.  Do  not  spill  any  more 
of  that  deadly  fluid.  There  has  been  enough  destruc- 
tion here  tonight.  I  propose  that  we  leave  the  late 
Matthew  Speak  as  he  is.     He  belongs  to  the  Society 


1 68  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

for  Piratical  Research.  He  is  the  Last  of  the  Pirates, 
and  I  beg  leave  to  claim  him  for  the  Society.  As  an 
exhibit,  he  will  be  highly  valued.  We  shall  from  time 
to  time  conduct  hither  parties  of  the  learned  or  the 
curious  to  view  the  Last  of  the  Pirates.  Nothing  could 
be  better.  Our  Society  is  now  revived.  I  am  im- 
mensely gratified.  Low  Dudgeon  shall  be  known  as 
the  only  Museum  in  the  world  with  but  a  single  Ex- 
hibit. Let  the  late  Matthew  Speak  repose  here  in  his 
chair  as  a  permanent  relic  of  a,  bygone  age;  the  sole 
Exhibit  in  a  Museum  all  his  own.  The  interest  of  such 
an  Exhibit  will  doubtless,  warrant  a  small  charge  at 
the  door." 

The  Committee  murmured  an  earnest  approval. 
The  Churchwarden  looked  at  his  companions,  and  put 
the  bottle  back  into  his  pocket  with  a  sigh. 

"I  thank  you,"  said  the  Third  Vice-President.  "We 
will  now  proceed  to  consider  our  next  step." 

"I  simply  can't  stay  in  this  room,"  exclaimed  Aunt 
Amanda,  "with  that  thing  sitting  in  that  chair." 

"It  is  nothing,  madam,  I  assure  you,"  said  the  Third 
Vice-President.     "See!" 

He  leaned  over  and  passed  his  hand  directly  through 
the  body  in  the  chair;  in  at  the  breast  and  out  at  the 
back. 

"Oh!"  cried  Aunt  Amanda;  and  her  friends  all 
gasped;  but  the  Committee  only  nodded  their  heads 
in  token  of  their  interest. 

"You  see  it  is  nothing,"  said  the  Third  Vice-Presi- 
dent. "We  will  now  look  at  the  paper  which  our  de- 
parted friend  has  left." 

He  picked  up  the  paper  from  the  table  where  Speak 
had  left  it,  adjusted  his  spectacles,  turned  his  back  to 
the  candles  so  as  to  get  a  good  light,  and  read  the  paper 
through  to  himself.  He  then  glanced  at  the  company 
and  read  aloud: 

"Shiraz  the  Rug-Merchant. 


A  KNOCK  AT  THE  DOOR  169 

"Outside  the  Gate  of  Wanderers,  six  hundred  Paces 
to  the  Right,  along  the  Wall. 

"Thee  shall  know  his  Shop  by  certain  Numbers,  to 
wit:   3101310. 

"If  he  Hide  himself,  say  these  words :  Shagll  Jam- 
shid  Shahriman. 

"Thee  shall  bi^y  of  his  Wares;  not  that  which  he 
shall  offer  First,  nor  Second;  but  that  which  he 
shall  offer  Third,  that  thee  shall  Buy;  and  for  that 
thee  shall  Pay  whatever  he  shall  Demand. 

"Thereafter  thee  shall  do  whatever  he  shall  Direct. 

"But  enter  not  Into  the  City  but  by  the  Shop  of  Shiraz 
the  Rug-Merchant." 

There  was  silence  for  a  moment,  then  Aunt  Amanda 
said: 

"That's  the  way  we  are  to  get  those  wonderful  things 
the  map  speaks  of.  It  doesn't  seem  to  tell  us  much, 
though.  Where  do  you  suppose  is  this  Gate  of  Wan- 
derers?" 

"That,  dear  madam,"  said  the  Third  Vice-President, 
"Is  one  of  the  gates  of  our  City  of  Towers.  We  know 
it  very  well,  of  course." 

"Then,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "as  captain  of  my  party, 
my  orders  is  that  we  go  there  at  once." 

"Much  good  would  that  do,"  said  Toby.  "We've 
got  to  buy  something  of  this  here  Shiraz,  if  that's  his 
name,  and  pay  anything  he  asks,  too.  And  there  ain't 
a  penny  amongst  us.    How  could  we  buy  anything?" 

"The  pirates'  treasure!"  cried  Freddie.  "The 
pirates'  treasure  in  the  cave!" 

"By  crackey!"  said  Toby.  "I  clean  forgot  all  about 
It.  Good  for  you,  Freddie !  Talk  about  money  to  buy 
things  with!  We'll  buy  out  that  old  Shiraz's  whole 
shop!  The  treasure  belongs  to  us,  as  sure  as  you're 
born.     By  crickets,  we're  in  luck." 

"If  you  will  pardon  me,"  said  the  Third  VIce-PresI- 


lyo  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

dent,  "we  know  nothing  of  any  treasure,  and  if  you 
would  be  so  good  as  to " 

"I  will,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  and  she  quickly  ex- 
plained the  whole  matter.  The  Daft  Committee,  in- 
cluding its  Chairman,  was  much  impressed. 

"We  do  not  wish  to  intrude,"  said  the  Chairman, 
"but  if  we  could  be  of  any  service " 

"Of  course!"  cried  Toby.  "You've  got  to  help  us 
get  the  treasure  out  of  the  cave,  and  then  help  us 
to  find  the  City  of  Towers.  And  if  you'll  help  us,  why 
what  I  say  is,  the  Committee  ought  to  have  a  share 
of  the  treasure.     Is  that  right?" 

Toby's  friends  willingly  agreed,  and  the  Committee 
gladly  consented  to  go  with  them  to  the  Treasure  Cave 
and  then  to  the  City  of  Towers. 

"The  Society  for  Piratical  Research,"  said  the  Third 
Vice-President,  "is  coming  back  to  life!  We  now  have 
a  Museum  with  one  Exhibit,  and  we  are  about  to  ac- 
quire a  Fund  of  Money.  Come,  my  friends,  it  Is  time 
to  depart.  If  you  will  go  out  first,  I  will  remain  and 
blow  out  the  candles.  We  must  remember  to  close  the 
door  behind  us,  for  a  draught  of  air  would  probably 
blow  the  late  Mr.  Matthew  Speak  out  of  the  window." 

In  a  few  moments  the  whole  party  was  standing  In 
the  moonlight  on  the  grass  before  the  deserted  tower 
of  Low  Dudgeon.  Not  quite  deserted,  however;  in 
every  mind  was  a  picture  of  a  misty  and  vapory  form, 
remotely  In  the  shape  of  a  man,  sitting  motionless  in 
a  chair  beside  a  table  In  a  dark  and  silent  room. 

"All  right,"  said  Toby,  "now  for  the  Treasure  Cave 
and  the  City  of  Towers." 


CHAPTER  XX 


THE  CITY  OF  TOWERS 


A  T  the  Pirates'  Cave,  the  task  of  getting  out  the 
A%  treasure  proved  very  difficult,  but  it  was  done 
-^  -^  at  last. 

The  Committee's  camp  In  the  forest  had  supplied 
abundance  of  provisions,  and  a  great  number  of  ani- 
mals ;  the  Committee  traveled  in  luxury. 

On  the  level  ground  where  Mr.  Hanlon  had  given 
his  exhibition  of  head-work,  the  toilers  were  now  rest- 
ing in  the  hot  sun,  and  drying  their  garments,  thor- 
oughly soaked  by  their  trips  in  and  out  of  the  cave, 
under  the  water-fall.  They  looked  with  intense  delight 
on  the  boxes  and  bags  which  lay  before  them. 

"What  I  say  is,"  said  Toby,  "let's  divide  the  treas- 
ure now,  so  we  won't  have  to  bother  about  it  when  we 
get  to  the  City  of  Towers." 

"How  beautiful  is  nature  !"  said  the  Sly  Old  Codger. 
■"Behold  that  wide  expanse  of  field  and  forest  resting 
so — so — expansively  beneath  the  orb  of  day  !  A  true, 
true  work  of  nature !  At  such  a  moment  as  this,  dear 
friends,  a  warm  feeling  invades  my  heart,  a  feeling  of 
— of — Did  I  hear  a  suggestion  to  divide  the  treasure?" 

The  division  was  carefully  made,  and  when  it  was 
done,  and  each  person  had  declared  himself  well  satis- 
fied, each  share  was  packed  separately,  and  the  treas- 
ure loaded  on  the  backs  of  the  extra  mules.  It  was  a 
princely  fortune. 

"Do  you  suppose,"  said  the  Old  Codger  with  the 
Wooden  Leg,  "that — er — I  shall  be  able  to  obtain,  in 

171 


172  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

the  City  of  Towers,  such  a  thing  as  a  pipeful — ahem ! — 
a  pipeful  of  tobacco?" 

"Never  fear,"  said  the  Third  Vice-President.  "I 
fancy  you  will  be  able  to  buy  there  all  the  tobacco  you 
can  use." 

"Wery  sorry  I  am  to  'ear  it,"  said  Mr.  Punch.  "Hi 
regard  the  tobacco  'abit  as  a  wery  reprehensible  'abit. 
Wery." 

"Oh,  you  do!"  said  Toby,  glaring  at  him. 

"Wery  reprehensible  indeed,"  went  on  Mr.  Punch, 
calmly.  "My  conscience  'as  troubled  me  for  a  long 
time  by  reason  of  my  position  in  the  tobacco  trade. 
Being  posted,  as  one  may  s'y,  in  a  wery  hadwantageous 
position  for  hobserwation,  I  'ave  seen  too  much,  en- 
tirely too  much,  of  the  sad  effects  of  the  hobnoxious 
weed.  Many  a  time  'ave  I  wept  to  myself,  when  the 
hobserver  may  'ave  thought  it  was  only  rain  on  me 
cheek,  to  see  'em,  young  and  hold,  going  in  and  hout 
of  Toby  Littleback's  shop,  knowing  what  would  come 
of  it  sooner  or  later,  and  me  a-standing  there  hencour- 
aging  of  'em  in,  as  one  may  s'y,  with  me  packet  of 
cigars  in  me  'and.  Hoften  enough  'ave  I  wished  to 
give  it  hup  and  embark  in  a  hoccupation  less  repre- 
hensible; many  a  time  'ave  I  said  to  myself,  'Ho,  hif 
I  could  only  be  hinnocent  once,  just  once.'  And  now 
Hi  shall  put  be'ind  me  hall  the  d'ys  of  me  sinful  past, 
and  with  my  share  of  the  treasure  Hi  shall  open  a  shop 
for  the  purveying  of  tripe." 

"There's  a  deal  more  harm  been  done  by  tripe  than 
ever  there  was  by  tobacco,"  said  Toby. 

"There  is  a  total  absence  of  nicotine  in  tripe,"  said 
Mr.  Punch,  loftily.  "At  least,  such  is  my  hinformation. 
And  I  carn't  'elp  'oping  that  my  friend  Littleback  will 
reform  hisself,  now  that  'e  can  afford  it,  and  engage  in 
some  pursuit  less  'armful  to  the  young.  Hif  I  v/as 
arsked,  I  would  suggest  pinking  and  pleating." 

"You   ain't  been  asked,"   said  Toby,     "I  can  see 


THE  CITY  OF  TOWERS  1 73 

myself  pinking  and  pleating.  When  I  want  advice 
what  to  do  with  my  money,  I'll  ask  you.  Tobacco  is 
my  line,  and  tobacco  is  going  to  be  my  line  to  the  end 
of  the  chapter,  and  that's  flat.  Pinking  and  pleating! 
Humph." 

"It's  my  belief,"  said  the  Churchwarden,  "after  lis- 
tening to  what's  been  said,  pro  and  con,  backwards 
and  forwards,  up  and  down,  that  if  we  don't  start  for 
the  City  of  Towers,  we'll  never  get  there." 

"And  what's  more,"  said  Toby,  "when  I  get  back 
I'm  going  to  have  an  Indian  outside  my  door,  instead 
of  a  tripe-seller." 

"Excuse  me,"  said  the  Third  Vice-President.  "I  am 
sorry  to  interrupt  this  interesting  discussion,  but  we 
really  ought  to  be  going.  Gentlemen,"  to  the  Com- 
mittee, "our  steeds  are  waiting.  To  the  City  of 
Towers !" 

The  journey  which  now  commenced  proved  to  be  a 
very  long  one.  Day  after  day  the  pilgrims  plodded 
through  a  wilderness  of  forest  and  field,  over  streams, 
across  mountains,  down  into  deep  valleys  and  up  again, 
camping  at  night  wherever  they  happened  to  find  water 
and  wood,  and  sleeping  under  the  stars  In  blankets  on 
beds  of  boughs.  The  moon  was  gone  before  their 
journey  was  over. 

One  morning  the  trail  brought  them  down  on  a 
mountain-side  to  a  well-paved  road.  This  road  they 
followed  for  some  hours,  and  it  brought  them  finally 
to  the  top  of  a  gentle  hill,  covered  with  trees.  From 
the  top  of  this  hill  they  saw  a  striking  scene. 

Stretching  away  from  the  foot  of  the  hill  lay  a  great 
rolling  valley,  up  which  the  road  ran  as  straight  as  a 
ribbon.  Far  away,  at  the  end  of  the  road,  against  a 
dark  wooded  mountain,  stood  a  great  city,  walled 
around  with  a  high  wall,  and  shining  in  the  sun  with 
white  and  gold  domes  and  turrets  and  towers.  The 
rear  of  the  city  rose  along  the  lower  slope  of  the  moun- 


174  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

tain,  and  on  the  top  of  the  mountain,  concealing  its 
peak,  lay  a  cloud;  black  below,  and  glittering  with  sun- 
light at  the  edges.  It  hung  there  motionless  during 
the  time  when  the  watchers  sat  watching  the  scene. 
Directly  under  the  cloud,  on  the  slope  where  the  far- 
thest portion  of  the  city  lay,  was  an  open  space  among 
the  buildings,  like  a  great  garden  or  park,  and  in  the 
midst  of  it  a  vast  white  building  with  a  flat  roof,  great 
enough  for  the  palace  of  a  king.  That  which  struck 
the  strangers  most,  at  their  first  look,  was  the  great 
number  of  towers  which  rose  at  all  points  in  the  city; 
surely  so  many  towers  had  never  been  gotten  together 
in  one  place  before;  and  the  most  remarkable  one  of 
them  was  the  tower  which  rose  from  just  behind  the 
great  white  building  in  the  park.  It  was  dull  In  colour, 
and  doubtless  of  brick;  It  was  round  In  shape,  tapering 
gradually  upwards.  It  rose  to  a  height  which  none  of 
the  strangers  would  have  thought  possible,  had  they 
not  seen  it  with  their  own  eyes;  it  rose  straight  to  the 
cloud  which  hung  motionless  upon  the  mountain;  It 
pierced  the  cloud,  and  its  top  was  lost  to  view  in  the 
cloud  or  above  it. 

"The  City  of  Towers!"  said  the  Third  Vice-Presi- 
dent, waving  his  arm  In  that  direction.  "The  Gate  of 
Wanderers  is  before  us,  at  the  end  of  the  road." 

The  party  urged  their  animals  forward  down  the 
hill-side,  and  pressed  on  until  noon,  when  they  halted 
for  rest  and  refreshment  In  a  wood  beside  the  road. 
There  they  sat  at  their  ease  on  the  grass,  and  the  Third 
Vice-President  looked  from  one  to  another,  and  spoke 
as  follows: 

"My  friends,  I  must  tell  you  the  story  of  the  Towers. 
Our  King,  you  must  know,  Is  a  handsome  and  amiable 
man,  in  appearance  about  thirty  years  of  age.  When 
I  tell  you  that  he  has  been  our  king  for  more  than 
forty  years,  you  will  be  surprised.  His  wife  was  a 
princess  of  some  few  years  less  than  his  own,  and  of 


THE  CITY  OF  TOWERS  175 

a  beauty  unequalled  in  the  kingdom.  Her  wedding 
ring,  the  gift  of  her  husband,  was  a  single  ruby  in  a 
plain  gold  band,  and  this  ring  she  was  never  known 
to  remove  from  her  wedding-finger  for  a  single  mo- 
ment. She  was  blessed  with  three  beautiful  children, 
two  boys  and  a  girl,  the  oldest  of  whom  was  nearly 
nine  years  of  age. 

"When  the  prince,  our  present  King,  was  thirty 
years  old,  his  father  the  King,  who  was  then  alive, 
gave  a  great  ball  at  the  palace,  and  at  this  ball  the  old 
King  declared  to  the  assembled  court  that  he  desired 
to  build  a  tower;  a  mighty  tower,  higher  than  any 
other  in  the  world,  where  he  might  seek  repose  from 
time  to  time;  a  tower  so  tall  that  it  would  reach  the 
cloud  that  hangs  perpetually  on  the  mountain.  To  him 
who  should  build  such  a  tower  in  the  shortest  time 
the  King  would  give  any  reward  which  the  fortunate 
bidder  might  ask.  The  old  King  laughed  as  he  made 
his  offer,  and  it  was  plain  that  he  was  only  half  serious; 
but  many  of  the  richest  of  his  nobility  desired  the  prize, 
and  contended  for  it  earnestly.  One  proposed  to  erect 
the  tower  in  ten  years,  another  in  eight,  and  one  was 
found  who  was  willing  to  promise  it  in  six  years  and 
a  half;  but  these  terms  were  all  too  long.  The  King 
was  old,  and  he  would  not  wait  so  long. 

"  'Is  there  no  one,'  said  the  old  King  at  last,  'who 
will  build  rrie  my  tower  in  less  than  six  years  and  a 
half?' 

"  'I  will  build  it  in  one  night,'  said  a  voice  from  the 
rear  of  the  ball-room. 

"An  old  man  came  forward  and  stood  before  the 
King;  an  old  man,  dressed  in  a  short  gown  tied  in  with 
a  cord  about  the  middle,  with  sandals  on  his  feet,  a 
lantern  with  a  lighted  candle  in  one  hand,  and  a  staff 
in  the  other.  No  one  in  that  place  had  ever  seen  him 
before,  and  no  one  knew  how  he  had  gotten  in  amongst 
that  glittering  company. 


176  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"  'I  will  build  your  tower  in  one  night,'  said  the  old 
man. 

"The  old  King  laughed  outright,  but  he  accepted  the 
offer  then  and  there.  'In  the  morning,'  said  he,  'if  we 
find  the  tower  finished,  you  shall  have  any  gift  which 
may  be  in  my  power  to  give.' 

"The  old  man  bowed,  and  made  his  way  slowly  out 
of  the  palace.  A  great  shout  of  laughter  went  up  from 
the  company,  and  in  this  the  King  himself  joined 
heartily;  but  the  joke  was,  as  I  must  tell  you,  my  friends, 
that  in  the  morning  when  the  King  rose,  there  stood 
the  tower  in  fact,  behind  the  palace,  so  tall  that  its  top 
could  not  be  seen  in  the  cloud  that  hung  upon  the  moun- 
tain; and  there,  my  friends,  the  tower  stands  to  this 
day. 

"That  evening  the  old  man  returned  for  his  reward. 
He  stood  before  the  King,  and  on  the  King's  right  and 
left  stood  the  prince  and  the  prince's  wife  and  children. 
The  King  asked  the  old  man  what  reward  he  desired. 

"  'I  ask  nothing,'  replied  the  other,  with  a  sly  smile, 
'except  the  ruby  ring  upon  the  finger  of  the  Princess.' 

"The  Princess  turned  pale,  and  hid  her  hand  behind 
her.  She  would  not  give  up  her  wedding-ring;  nothing 
the  King  could  say  could  move  her.  He  offered  the 
old  man  anything  else  he  might  demand;  a  dozen  ruby 
rings;  a  box  of  ruby  rings;  anything;  but  the  old  man 
would  have  nothing  but  the  ring  upon  the  Princess's 
finger.  The  Princess  grew  paler  still,  as  if  with  fear; 
but  she  would  not  give  up  the  ring.  The  old  man 
smiled  his  sly  smile  again,  and  went  away. 

"The  next  morning  the  Princess  and  her  three  chil- 
dren were  gone.  Search  was  made  everywhere,  but 
they  were  not  to  be  found.  The  King  and  the  Prince, 
mounting  the  winding  stair  of  the  tower,  stopped  at 
last  when  they  were  all  but  exhausted,  and  at  that  mo- 
ment heard  a  sound  of  weeping  from  above.  They 
climbed  higher,  and  on  the  stair  they  found  the  children 


THE  CITY  OF  TOWERS  177 

sitting,  huddled  together  and  weeping  bitterly.  Their 
mother  was  gone,  they  knew  not  where;  and  they  did 
not  know  how  they  came  to  be  in  the  tower.  The 
strongest  climbers  in  the  city  mounted  as  far  as  they 
could  ascend,  but  the  top  of  the  tower  was  far  beyond 
their  reach;  they  found  no  Princess.  She  has  never 
been  seen  from  that  day. 

"Soon  after,  the  old  King  died,  and  his  son  came  to 
the  throne.  As  for  him,  our  present  King,  and  his 
three  children,  time  stopped  for  them  from  the  day  on 
which  the  Princess  disappeared.  They  are  no  older 
now  than  when  she  left  them.  It  is  supposed  that  they 
are  awaiting  her  return  unchanged,  in  order  that  she 
may  not  find  them  old  on  her  return,  if  she  should  still 
be  young.  There  are  those  who  say  that  she  has  lived 
all  these  years,  and  still  lives,  somewhere,  in  some 
strange  form,  perhaps  far  from  here,  bewitched  by  the 
old  man,  and  waiting  for  release  from  her  enchant- 
ment.    I  do  not  know." 

"And  what  was  her  name?"  said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"She  was  named,"  said  the  Third  Vice-President, 
"the  Princess  Miranda." 

"And  what  are  all  those  other  towers  In  the  city?" 
said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"It  was  the  fashion,  after  the  King's  Tower  was 
built,  to  build  towers.  The  King,  as  you  may  suppose, 
sets  the  fashion  in  all  things.  But  no  more  pleasure- 
towers  are  built  nowadays;  the  thing  had  its  day,  and 
died  out.  There  Is  a  fashion  now  in  pleasure-domes. 
They  are  modeled  after  the  pleasure-dome  built  by 
Kubla  Khan  in  Xanadu." 

"Well,"  said  Toby,  "I  don't  see  what  we've  got  to 
do  with  all  this.  The  party  I  want  to  see  Is  Shiraz 
the  Rug-Merchant." 


T 


CHAPTER  XXI 

SHIRAZ  THE  RUG-MERCHANT 

IHE  wayfarers  came  to  a  halt  before  the  Wan- 
derers' Gate.  The  wall  of  the  city  stood  before 
them,  and  stretched  away  to  a  great  distance 
on  either  hand.  People  were  going  in  and  out  at  the 
gate;  some  on  foot,  driving  donkeys  before  them,  some 
on  horseback,  some  in  wagons,  and  all  brisk  and  talka- 
tive. The  Third  Vice-President  received  a  respectful 
greeting  from  several  of  those  on  horseback.  He 
turned  to  his  companions  with  a  wave  of  the  hand, 
and  said: 

"The  Wanderers'  Bazaar!" 

On  each  side  of  the  open  gate,  at  the  foot  of  the 
high  thick  wall,  was  what  appeared  to  be  a  fair.  As 
far  as  the  eye  could  see,  the  base  of  the  wall  was  lined 
with  booths,  each  with  an  awning  over  it  from  the 
wall  behind,  gaily  striped  in  orange  and  blue  and 
yellow  and  brown.  In  these  booths  was  spread  out  in 
disorderly  profusion  a  mass  of  merchandise  of  all 
kinds;  gold  and  silver  ornaments,  brass  and  copper 
vessels,  rugs  and  carpets,  spectacles  and  clocks,  toys 
and  games,  herbs  and  ointments,  fish-nets  and  sailors' 
instruments,  canes  and  crutches,  ribbons  and  laces,  per- 
fumery, precious  stones — things  innumerable;  even  par- 
rots and  monkeys.  In  cages;  in  one  booth  was  a  potter, 
twirling  his  potter's  wheel;  In  another  a  fortune-teller, 
laying  little  sticks  down  in  curious  patterns  on  his  table; 
In  another  a  man  pasting  on  cards  bits  of  coloured 
feathers,  in  the  form  of  tiny  birds  and  fowls,  most  life- 

178 


SHIRAZ  THE  RUG-MERCHANT        179 

like;  in  another  a  glass-blower,  delicately  twining  a 
thread  of  spun  glass  for  the  rigging  of  a  ship;  in 
another  a  man,  sitting  on  a  rug  with  a  snake  before 
him,  whose  flat  head  stood  stiffly  up  from  his  coil,  and 
waved  a  little  to  the  motion  of  his  master's  finger;  in 
another,  a  man  was  bending  over  a  flower-pot  with  a 
wand  in  his  hand,  and  as  he  moved  the  wand  a  stalk 
grew  from  the  pot  and  at  its  end  a  bud  appeared  and 
unfolded  into  a  flower  before  the  very  eyes  of  his  audi- 
ence; in  another  a  great  ape  was  marking  down  figures 
with  chalk  as  his  master  called  them;  in  another  a 
shuttle  was  weaving  back  and  forth  in  a  loom;  there 
seemed  to  be  no  end  to  the  curious  and  diverting  things 
to  be  seen  in  those  booths.  The  people  in  them  were 
apparently  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth;  there  were 
brown  men  and  yellow  men  and  black  men,  as  well  as 
white;  men  with  slant  eyes,  with  round  eyes,  with  flat 
noses,  with  beak-noses,  with  wooly  hair,  with  straight 
hair;  there  were  turbans,  and  fezzes,  and  hoods,  and 
white  gowns,  and  coloured  robes,  and  velvet  jackets, 
and  cotton  blouses;  and  from  all  the  venders  rose  such 
a  hubbub  as  Freddie  had  never  in  his  life  heard  before, 
except  once  in  the  Gaunt  Street  Theatre  at  home.  A 
lively  crowd  chaffered  with  the  venders  and  walked  in 
the  paved  street  before  their  booths.  It  was  a  scene 
full  of  life  and  colour,  and  Freddie  was  transported 
with  delight. 

"Oh!"  he  said,  "can't  we  get  down  here  and  see  all 
those  sights?  I  should  like  to  spend  the  whole  day 
here!" 

"We've  got  other  fish  to  fry  just  now,  Freddie," 
said  Toby.     "We'll  have  to  see  this  some  other  time." 

"It  is  a  precious  thought,"  said  the  Sly  Old  Fox, 
"that  we  have  here  with  us  on  our  mules  enough  treas- 
ure to  buy  this  whole  bazaar,  if  we  wished  to  do  It. 
It  is  a  beautiful  thought." 

"Six  'undred  paces  to  the  right!"  said  Mr.  Punch. 


i8o  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"Shiraz  the  Rug-Merchant!"  said  Toby.  "By  the 
looks  of  it,  there  must  be  about  five  hundred  rug- 
merchants  along  there." 

"What  was  the  number  we  were  to  find  him  by?" 
said  Aunt  Amanda. 

"It's  3103101,"  said  Toby. 

"You  are  quite  mistaken,"  said  Mr.  Punch.  "Hit's 
3013101." 

"That's  exactly  what  I  said,"  said  Toby. 

"Excuse  me,"  said  the  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden 
Leg,  "it  seems  to  me  that  it  is — er — 3101301." 

"My  recollection  is,"  said  the  Churchwarden,  "that 
it  is  3031010." 

"I  am  sorry  to  differ,"  said  the  Sly  Old  Codger, 
"but  I  am  perfectly  sure  it  is  3013010." 

"Why  don't  you  look  at  the  paper?"  said  Aunt 
Amanda,  in  an  exasperated  tone. 

Everyone  looked  at  everyone  else  to  produce  the 
paper,  but  no  one  produced  it. 

"I  regret  to  confess  it,"  said  the  Third  Vice-Presi- 
dent, placidly,  "but  I  have  a  distinct  recollection  of 
having  left  it  on  the  table  at  Low  Dudgeon.  Never 
mind,  it  is  perfectly  safe." 

"Well!"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Isn't  that  a  perfect 
shame!  Whatever  are  we  going  to  do?  And  where's 
the  map?     Freddie,  have  you  got  the  map?" 

Freddie  looked  in  all  his  pockets.  "No'm,''  said  he. 
"It  isn't  here." 

"I  recall  distinctly,"  said  the  Third  Vice-President, 
without  any  sign  of  worry,  "that  the  map  was  left  on 
the  table  at  Low  Dudgeon  with  the  other  paper." 

"Merciful  fathers  !"  exclaimed  Aunt  Amanda.  "And 
you've  left  the  map  behind  too  I  I  never  yet  see  a  man 
that  had  a  head  on  him  worth  a — Now  listen  to  me;  Is 
there  anyone  that  remembers  the  words  the  paper  said 
we  had  to  say  to  the " 

"Ah!    madam,"    said    the    Third    Vice-President. 


SHIR AZ  THE  RUG-MERCHANT        1 8 1 

"There  I  can  be  of  assistance,  I  fancy.  The  words  are 
derived  from  the  Persian,  and  I  am  accordingly  fa- 
miliar with  them.  'Shagli  Jamshid  Shahriman.'  Am 
I.  right,  gentlemen?" 

The  Daft  Committee  nodded  their  heads  in  assent. 

"Then  I  see  no  reason,"  said  the  Third  Vice-Presi- 
dent, "why  we  should  not  proceed." 

"Come  on  then,"  said  Toby.  "I'll  get  down  and 
pace  off  the  six  hundred  steps,  and  see  where  we  come 
to." 

The  party  moved  slowly  through  the  crowd,  along 
the  booths,  while  Toby  walked  beside  them,  carefully 
counting  his  steps. 

"Five  hundred  and  eighty,"  said  he.  "Five  hundred 
and  ninety.  Ninety-five.  Six  hundred" ;  and  stopped. 
The  procession  stopped  also,  and  all  of  the  riders  got 
down  from  their  mules.  Many  of  the  passers-by  gazed 
curiously  at  them,  and  some  paused  for  a  moment  be- 
fore going  on;  but  no  one  seemed  to  take  more  than 
a  passing  interest.  One  of  the  Committee  led  the  mules 
to  the  open  side  of  the  street,  where  they  would  be  out 
of  the  way,  and  stood  guard  over  them.  The  others 
joined  Toby  in  front  of  the  booth  at  which  he  was 
now  standing. 

It  was  not  the  kind  of  booth  they  were  seeking  at 
all.  There  were  no  rugs  nor  carpets  of  any  kind;  only 
clocks  and  watches,  a  great  number  of  them,  and  a 
few  sundials  and  hour-glasses.  Behind  the  counter 
stood  a  lad  of  about  twenty,  very  dark  of  skin,  with 
snapping  black  eyes  and  shining  white  teeth  which 
showed  as  he  now  bowed  and  smiled;  a  white  turban 
on  his  head,  and  a  loose  white  robe  hanging  from  his 
shoulders.  He  was  slim  and  sleek,  and  his  fingers  were 
very  long  and  delicate.  He  rubbed  his  hands  together 
as  the  riders  dismounted,  and  commenced  to  chatter  to 
them  in  an  unknown  tongue,  bowing  and  smiling  the 
while.     His  wares  were  displayed  about  him  on  shelves 


1 82  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

and  boxes  and  tables,  as  well  as  on  the  counter,  and 
the  clocks  and  watches,  as  usual  in  such  places,  showed 
all  hours  of  the  twelve.  A  striped  awning  of  orange 
and  blue,  fastened  at  the  rear  to  the  side  of  the  city 
wall,  shielded  him  and  his  booth  from  the  sun.  Be- 
hind him  in  the  wall  was  a  closed  iron  door. 

"We're  in  the  wrong  shop,"  said  Toby  to  his  com- 
panions. "Some  mistake.  Anyway,  here  goes."  And 
addressing  the  young  man  behind  the  counter,  he  said: 
"Good-afternoon.  We  are  looking  for  Mr.  Shiraz 
the  Rug-Merchant.  This  don't  look  much  like  a  rug 
shop,  but  maybe  you  can  tell  us.  Shiraz;  that's  his 
name." 

"No  understand,"  said  the  young  man,  rubbing  his 
hands  and  bowing  pleasantly. 

"Shiraz,"  said  Toby.  "Think.  Shiraz.  Easy 
word,  Shiraz.     You  understand?" 

"Clocks  and  watches,"  said  the  young  man.  "Sun- 
dials.    You  buy?" 

"No,  no,"  said  Toby.  "We  no  buy.  Want  Shiraz. 
Confound  it,  that's  an  easy  word,  ain't  it?  Shiraz! 
Can't  you  understand  that?" 

"No  sell  Shiraz,"  said  the  young  man.  "Clocks  and 
watches." 

"Look  here,"  said  Toby,  "what's  the  number  of  this 
place?" 

"No  number,"  said  the  young  man,  looking  puzzled 
and  shaking  his  head.     "Clocks  and  watches." 

"By  crackey,"  said  Toby,  "we're  in  the  wrong  place 
sure  enough." 

Now  while  this  talk  was  going  on,  Freddie  had  made 
a  discovery.  He  had  noticed,  on  a  box  at  the  rear, 
against  the  wall,  a  row  of  seven  old  clocks.  They  were 
battered  and  broken,  and  were  evidently  long  since 
out  of  repair;  two  of  them  had  no  hands.  Like  most 
of  the  clocks  in  the  place,  they  were  stopped,  and  had 
probably,  from  the  looks  of  them,  ceased  many  years 


SHIRAZ  THE  RUG-MERCHANT        1 83 

before  to  keep  time.  He  noted  idly  the  time  shown  by- 
each  of  these  clocks,  and  started  in  surprise.  The  hour 
shown  by  the  first  clock  at  the  left  was  three  o'clock. 
That  shown  by  the  next  was  one  o'clock.  The  next 
had  no  hands,  and  showed  no  time  at  all.  The  next 
showed  one  o'clock,  the  next  three  o'clock,  the  next  one 
o'clock,  and  the  seventh  had  no  hands.  He  ran  his 
eye  over  them  again,  and  the  numbers  which  resulted 
were  3101310. 

"Come  along,"  said  Toby.  "We  might  as  well  ask 
at  some  of  these  other  shops.  There  ain't  no  use  wast- 
ing time  here." 

He  moved  away,  and  the  others  followed  him 
towards  the  adjoining  booth.  The  teeth  of  the  dark 
young  man  shone  white,  and  he  bowed  politely  to  the 
departing  strangers. 

Freddie  pulled  at  Toby's  coat,  and  whispered  in  his 
ear.  Toby  listened,  and  without  a  word  led  the  party 
back  to  the  booth. 

"Now  see  here,  young  feller,"  said  he,  "I've  got 
your  number,  and  I  don't  want  no  nonsense.  I  reckon 
you  can  understand  numbers,  if  you  can't  understand 
anything  else."  He  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  row  of  old 
clocks  at  the  rear,  "Listen  to  this,  my  young  friend: 
3-1-0-1-3-1-0." 

The  smile  left  the  young  man's  face.  He  seemed  a 
trifle  uneasy.  His  long  fingers  rested  on  the  counter, 
and  he  leaned  forward  intently. 

"No  understand,"  said  he. 

"By  crackey,"  said  Toby,  "this  beats  all.  Where's 
Shiraz?  We're  in  the  right  place,  and  we  want  Shiraz. 
Out  with  him!" 

"Clocks  and  watches,"  said  the  voung  man,  but  this 
time  somewhat  nervously.     "You  buy?" 

"Buy  nothing!"  cried  Toby.  "We  want  to  see 
Shiraz  the  Rug-Merchant.     Professor,"  said  he,  turn- 


1 84  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

ing  round,  "what's  the  words  to  bring  out  Shiraz  the 
Rug-Merchant?" 

"Shagli  Jamshid  Shahriman!"  said  the  Third  Vice- 
President,  in  a  loud  voice. 

Instantly  the  manner  of  the  young  man  changed. 
Crossing  his  arms  upon  his  breast,  he  made  a  low 
salaam,  and  spoke  with  the  utmost  deference. 

"I  trust  you  will  pardon,"  said  he,  "my  seeming  lack 
of  courtesy.  It  is  necessary  to  exercise  a  certain  cau- 
tion. T  here  are  wicked  spirits,  assuming  from  time  to 
time  the  most  unlikely  forms,  who  seek  to  gain  access 
to  my  great-great-grandfather.  His  life  is  continually 
in  danger,  for  he  possesses  secrets  which  enable  him 
constantly  to  interfere  with  their  designs.  By  reason 
of  this  danger,  he  was  obliged  many  years  ago  to  retire 
from  the  rug  business,  and  he  has  lived  ever  since  in 
deep  seclusion.  It  is  your  wish  to  see  Shiraz  the  Per- 
sian?" 

"You  seem  to  speak  English  pretty  good,"  said  Toby. 

"Perfectly,  my  lord.  And  twelve  other  tongues  as 
well.    You  desire  to  see  my  great-great-grandfather?" 

"That's  the  exact  idea,"  said  Toby. 

"Then  I  will  beg  your  indulgence  for  a  few  mo- 
ments." 

The  young  man  bowed  again,  and  disappeared 
through  the  doorway  in  the  wall,  closing  the  door  be- 
hind him.    After  a  considerable  absence  he  returned. 

"If  you  will  follow  me,"  said  he,  "I  will  conduct 
you  to  my  great-great-grandfather." 

"We  will  await  your  return  here,"  said  the  Third 
Vice-President  to  Toby  and  his  companions.  "It  is 
unnecessary  for  us  to  pursue  this  adventure  further." 

The  Third  Vice-President  and  his  friends  returned 
to  the  mules,  and  the  others  followed  the  young  man 
to  the  door  behind  him  in  the  wall.  The  door  was 
closed  and  locked  behind  them,  and  they  found  them- 


SHIRAZ  THE  RUG-MERCHANT        185 

selves  In  darkness.  "If  you  will  come  to  me  here," 
said  the  voice  of  the  young  man,  a  little  in  advance, 
"I  will  show  you  the  way  down."  When  they  felt 
themselves  near  him,  they  heard  his  voice  again.  "Be 
good  enough  to  step  carefully  forward,  until  you  feel 
the  first  step  of  a  descending  stair.  Then  descend  cau- 
tiously, if  you  please."  Each  one  put  out  a  foot,  and 
in  a  moment  they  were  all  going  down  a  stairway,  of 
which  the  treads  were  evidently  of  stone,  much  worn. 

When  they  had  gone  down  some  thirty  steps,  they 
were  aware  that  the  stair  had  ended,  and  that  they 
were  on  a  landing.  "You  will  now  cross  the  bridge, 
one  by  one,  holding  on  to  the  railing,"  said  the  voice 
of  the  young  man.  One  by  one  the  party  stepped  for- 
ward, feeling  the  way  cautiously,  and  as  each  In  turn 
found  with  his  hand  a  slight  wooden  railing,  a  breath 
of  fresh  air  blew  upon  his  face  and  the  sound  of  rushing 
water  came  from  below.  Instead  of  the  firm  stone 
they  had  just  been  treading,  they  were  conscious  of 
wooden  planking  under  their  feet,  and  It  gave  beneath 
their  pressure  most  uneasily.  The  bridge  was  a  long 
one,  and  the  sound  of  rushing  water  followed  them  its 
entire  length.  They  walked  again,  however,  on  firm 
ground,  and  heard  the  young  man's  voice  before  them. 
"Be  good  enough  to  follow  the  right  hand  wall,"  It 
said,  "and  turn  with  the  wall." 

Each  right  hand  touched  the  surface  of  a  wall,  and 
in  a  moment  the  wall  made  a  turning  to  the  right.  In 
another  moment  their  progress  was  barred  by  a  wall 
in  advance,  and  the  voice  of  the  young  man  spoke 
from  their  midst.  "You  will  kindly  stoop  as  you  go 
in,"  said  he,  and  at  the  same  moment  a  round  opening 
appeared  before  them,  dimly  lit  from  within.  It  was 
only  large  enough  to  admit  a  single  person,  stooping. 
The  young  man  entered  first,  and  the  others  followed, 
one  by  one.    When  they  were  all  on  the  other  side  of 


1 86  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

the  door,  the  young  man  swung  it  noiselessly  to,  on  its 
hinges,  and  it  was  seen  that  it  fitted  accurately,  so  that 
it  was  impossible  to  distinguish  it  from  the  wall. 

They  were  in  a  small  room,  unfurnished  except  for 
a  table  in  the  center,  on  which  burned  an  oil  lamp  of 
silver,  in  shape  like  a  boat;  the  walls  were  bare,  except 
for  certain  shelves  containing  bottles  of  coloured 
liquids,  other  bottles  of  coloured  powders,  mortars, 
retorts,  gas-burners,  and  huge  dusty  books.  There  ap- 
peared to  be  no  outlet  from  the  room,  but  the  young 
man  pressed  his  finger  on  a  spot  behind  one  of  the 
bottles  on  a  shelf,  and  a  circular  door,  like  the  one  by 
which  they  had  entered,  swung  slowly  open  in  the 
opposite  wall. 

"We  have  arrived,"  said  the  young  man.  "Please 
to  follow." 

He  stooped  and  entered  the  circular  doorway,  and 
the  others,  one  by  one,  followed.  They  found  them- 
selves in  a  rich  and  luxurious  apartment,  softly  lighted 
by  a  hanging  lamp;  in  the  center  was  a  table,  littered 
with  open  books  and  scrolls  of  paper,  and  bearing 
notably  a  great  round  globe  of  solid  crystal. 

Beside  the  table,  on  a  divan,  reclined  what  appeared 
to  be  a  dry  and  shriveled  mummy. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

SIX  ENCHANTED  SOULS 

<*^  I  ^HIS  Is  my  great-great-grandfather,"  said  the 
I        young  man, 

-*-  The  room  in  which  they  stood  was  hung 

about  on  all  the  walls  with  rare  and  beautiful  rugs,  and 
similar  rugs  covered  the  floor.  Richly  embroidered 
cushions  and  delicate  silk  and  cashmere  shawls  lay  on 
the  few  easy  chairs  that  were  disposed  about  the 
room.  The  bowl  of  the  hanging  lamp,  above  the  table, 
was  of  bits  of  amber  and  orange  and  ruby  glass, 
through  which  shone  a  subdued  and  mellow  light.  Near 
the  ceiling  were  three  or  four  small  openings,  covered 
with  iron  gratings,  and  the  air  in  the  apartment  was 
pure,  except  for  the  odour  of  tobacco.  The  figure  on 
the  divan  was  smoking  a  pipe;  a  water-pipe,  whose  long 
flexible  stem  reached  to  the  floor,  where  its  bowl  rested. 

Shiraz  the  Rug-Merchant  looked  at  his  visitors  with 
little  beady  black  eyes.  His  skin  was  very  dark,  and 
shriveled  and  wrinkled  like  the  skin  of  a  dried  apple. 
His  cheek-bones  seemed  as  If  about  to  break  through 
his  cheeks,  and  his  lips  were  stretched  back  from  his 
teeth,  which  were  black  and  broken.  His  hands  were 
like  the  claws  of  a  bird.  Thin  white  hair  straggled 
over  his  tight  dark  scalp.  He  wore  a  robe  of  some 
soft  material,  harmoniously  mottled  upon  a  ground  of 
maroon,  and  on  his  feet  were  slippers  of  red  morocco, 
pointed  upwards  at  the  toes.  His  turban  lay  upon  the 
table  beside  him. 

He  was  the  smallest  man  the  strangers  had  ever  seen. 

187 


THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 


Shiraz  the  Rug-Merchant  looked  at  his  visitors 
with  little  beady  black  eyes. 


SIX  ENCHANTED  SOULS  189 

After  a  searching  look  at  them  with  his  beady  eyes, 
he  rose  from  the  divan,  laid  down  the  stem  of  his  pipe, 
and  stood  up.  He  was  not  taller  than  Freddie.  As  he 
stood  by  the  divan,  looking  up  at  his  visitors,  he  seemed 
indeed  a  mere  mummy  of  a  man,  likely  to  fall  to  pieces 
at  a  breath  of  air. 

"You  are  welcome,"  he  said,  In  a  voice  surprisingly 
strong.  "I  perceive  that  you  have  come  from  a  great 
distance.  Permit  me  to  Inquire  what  errand  has 
brought  you  to  your  servant's  poor  habitation." 

"I  reckon  we  want  to  buy  something,"  said  Toby. 
"I  don't  know  what,  exactly,  but  a  chap  by  the  name 
of  Higginson,  Captain  Reuben  Higglnson,  he  give  us 
the  direction,  as  you  might  say." 

"Ah,  yes,"  said  Shiraz  the  Persian.  "I  remember 
him  very  well.  I  was  sorry  to  learn  of  his  misfortune. 
An  excellent  man;  a  member  of  some  strange  sect " 

"A  Quaker,"  said  Toby.  "The  paper  he  left  said 
we  might  buy  something  here,  and  here  we  are,  ready 
to  buy." 

"I  have  long  since  retired  from  the  rug  business," 
said  Shiraz,  "but  I  have  brought  with  me  here,  as  you 
may  see,  some  of  my  choicest  treasures,  as  a  slight 
solace  In  my  seclusion."  He  glanced  towards  the  rugs 
on  the  walls.  "I  am  reluctant  to  part  with  any  of  them, 
but  I  am  willing  to  make  an  exception,  In  view  of  your 
having  made  so  long  a  journey  to  see  me.  My  son," 
said  he  to  the  young  m,an,  "bring  hither  the  Omar 
prayer-rug." 

The  young  man  took  from  one  of  the  walls  a  small 
rug,  and  laid  it  at  the  feet  of  Shiraz. 

"You  will  immediately  perceive,"  said  the  Persian, 
"the  extreme  beauty  of  this  rug.  It  is  one  of  my  rarest 
treasures.  It  Is  a  prayer-rug  from  the  mosque  of  Omar 
at  Isfahan;  a  Kallcheh  of  cut-pile  fabric,  with  the  Sehna 
knot,  as  I  need  not  tell  you;  made  in  Kurdistan  three 


1 90  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

hundred  years  ago;  observe,  if  you  please,  the  delicacy 
of  the  design  and  the  harmony  of  the  colouring.  Its 
possession  is  as  a  spring  of  water  to  the  desert  Bedouin ; 
as  a  palm  with  dates  on  the  road  to  Mecca;  as  a  word 
to  the  believer  from  the  mouth  of  the  Prophet.  Its 
price,  to  those  who  have  journeyed  across  the  sea  to 
iDuy  it,  is  twelve  copper  pennies." 

The  Sly  Old  Fox  stooped  down  and  examined  it.  His 
eyes  lit  up  with  pleasure.  "Beautiful!"  said  he.  "I 
have  never  seen  a  rug  more  beautiful;  it  is  a  real  work 
of — of — I  will  take  it.   At  twelve  pennies.   It  is  mine." 

"No,  no!"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "You'll  do  nothmg 
of  the  kind.  It  is  certainly  the  finest  piece  of  carpet 
I  have  ever  seen,  and  the  price  is  low  enough,  in  all 
conscience.  But  we  are  not  going  to  buy  it.  I  am 
sorry,  sir,  but  we  can't  buy  your  rug.  Show  us  some- 
thing else." 

Shiraz  displayed  his  teeth  more  plainly  than  ever 
in  a  sly  smile. 

"Your  servant  is  desolated,"  he  replied.  "I  crave 
your  pardon  for  showing  a  trifle  so  far  beneath  your 
notice.  My  son,  take  it  away.  If  your  excellencies 
will  deign  to  overlook  my  error,  I  will  produce  an 
article  more  worthy  of  your  attention.  This  time  I 
promise  myself  the  ecstasy  of  your  approval." 

"Pretty  good  line  of  talk,"  whispered  Toby  In  Mr. 
Punch's  ear. 

"My  son,"  continued  Shiraz,  "bring  hither  the 
Wishing  Rug." 

The  young  man  took  away  the  prayer-rug,  and 
brought  another  from  the  wall;  a  much  larger  one, 
large  enough,  indeed,  for  twenty  people  to  stand  on. 
It  was  dingy  and  frayed,  and  In  no  way  beautiful  like 
the  other. 

"A  rug  of  the  Tomb  of  Rustam,"  said  Shiraz, 
"gained  by  the  hero  In  battle  from  the  genie  Akhnavid. 


SIX  ENCHANTED  SOULS  1 9 1 

It  is  the  last  of  the  Wishing  Rugs.  Its  property  is, 
that  it  will  transport  to  the  farthest  regions  of  the 
earth,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  those  who  sit  upon  it 
and  but  name  aloud  the  place  of  their  desire.  Excel- 
lencies," he  said,  addressing  his  visitors  very  earnestly, 
"if  it  is  your  wish  to  return  home,  the  moment  has 
arrived;  you  have  only  to  sit  upon  this  rug  and  wish 
yourselves  at  home,  and  you  will  find  yourselves  there, 
safe  and  sound,  before  the  words  shall  have  well  left 
your  lips.     And  the  price  is  only  twenty  pennies." 

Every  one  of  the  party  hesitated.  A  vision  of  the 
Old  Tobacco  Shop  entered  each  mind.  It  had  never 
seemed  so  cozy,  so  quiet,  so  secure  as  at  that  moment. 
How  or  when  they  would  ever  get  there,  in  the  natural 
course  of  events,  no  one  knew.  If  they  did  not  seize 
this  opportunity,  they  might  be  lost  forever.  It  was 
a  chance  such  as  they  could  scarcely  have  hoped  for. 

"Could  we  take  our  belongings  with  us?"  said  the 
Sly  Old  Eox. 

"All  that  can  be  piled  on  the  rug,"  said  Shiraz. 

"Then  Iwill  buy  it,"  said  the  Sly  Old  Codger.  "1 
do  not  consider  twenty  pennies  too  much  for  such  a  rug. 
The  rug  is  mine." 

"It's  nothing  of  the  sort,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  wak- 
ing from  deep  thought.  "Nobody's  going  to  buy  the 
rug.  I'm  captain  of  this  expedition,  and  my  orders  is, 
to  wait  and  see  what's  going  to  happen  next.  I'm 
sorry,  sir,  but  the  rug  ain't  exactly  what  we  want.  You 
must  show  us  something  else." 

The  Rug-Merchant  appeared  greatly  mortified.  "I 
do  not  know  how  I  could  have  made  such  a  mistake," 
he  said.  "I  should  have  known  that  these  little  trifles 
could  not  Interest  you.  I  trust  you  will  believe  that  I 
meant  no  offense.  I  fear  there  is  nothing  In  my  poor 
collection  which  merits  your  notice.  Permit  me  to  wish 
you  a  safe  journey.  Do  you  Intend  to  remain  long  In 
the  City  of  Towers?" 


192  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"That  won't  do,"  said  Toby.  "You  must  show  us 
something  else." 

The  Rug-Merchant  looked  intently  at  Aunt  Amanda. 
"You  command  it?"  said  he. 

"I  do,"  said  she. 

"To  hear  is  to  obey,"  said  Shiraz.  "I  tremble  to 
think  how  contemptible  are  the  baubles  I  shall  now 
offer  you,  but  I  trust  you  will  not  be  angry  with  your 
servant."  He  turned  to  the  young  man,  and  spoke  to 
him  in  an  unknown  tongue.  "Be  not  offended,  excel- 
lencies," he  went  on,  "by  your  poor  servant's  ignorance 
in  the  art  of  pleasing." 

The  young  man  disappeared  behind  one  of  the  hang- 
ing rugs,  and  in  a  moment  returned  with  certain  small 
objects,  which  he  stood  upon  the  table  in  a  row.  They 
were  eight  hour-glasses,  of  a  very  ordinary  kind,  much 
like  those  already  seen  in  the  booth  outside.  The  sand 
in  each  one  was  wholly  in  the  upper  glass,  and  was  just 
beginning  to  trickle  down  into  the  lower.  The  strangers 
were  obviously  disappointed. 

"I  fear  your  displeasure,"  said  Shiraz,  "but  apart 
from  my  trifling  rugs,  these  are  all  I  have  to  offer." 

"And  what,"  said  the  Sly  Old  Fox,  "what  may  be 
the  price  of  these  interesting  objects?" 

"The  price,"  said  Shiraz,  fixing  his  beady  eyes  on 
Aunt  Amanda,  "the  price  is  this  and  nothing  less:  your 
treasure  on  the  mules  outside;  your  share  of  the  treas- 
ure on  the  mules." 

Everj^one  gasped.  The  treasure  which  they  had 
gone  through  so  many  perils  to  secure,  for  these  indif- 
ferent trinkets !  A  life  of  ease  and  plenty  for  an  hour- 
glass 1 

"Ahem !"  said  the  Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden 
Leg.  "Excuse  me  for  saying  it,  but  the — er — price 
appears  to  be  a  little  bit  high." 

"It  is  too  high  for  me,"  said  the  Sly  Old  Fox,  posi- 
tively.   "I  regret  to  say  it,  but  I  am  compelled  to  with- 


SIX  ENCHANTED  SOULS  193 

draw;  I  cannot  go  on  at  such  a  figure.    Please  consider 
me  out  of  it." 

"And — er — me  too,"  said  the  Old  Codger  with  the 
Wooden  Leg. 

"Well,"  said  Toby,  doubtfully,  "it's  a  blamed  hard 
thing  to  give  up  all  that  treasure  for  one  of  these  here 
little  toys.  I  don't  see  my  way  clear  to  doing  it.  What 
do  you  say,  Aunt  Amanda?" 

"I'll  do  it,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  looking  at  Shiraz, 
whose  eyes  were  still  on  her.  "I've  come  all  this  way 
to  do  it,  and  I'll  do  it.  I  ain't  going  to  back  out  now 
at  the  last  minute.  My  mind's  made  up.  Mr.  Shiraz, 
I'll  buy  an  hour-glass." 

"By  crackey,"  said  Toby,  "then  I  will  too.  What 
about  you,  Freddie?" 

"Oh,  yes,  indeed,"  said  Freddie. 

"Hi'U  'ave  one  myself,"  said  Mr.  Punch. 

"After  due  consideration,"  said  the  Churchwarden, 
"I  think  I  will  buy  one  also." 

Mr.  Hanlon  nodded  a  vigorous  assent. 

The  two  Old  Codgers,  however,  were  firm  in  their 
refusal.  They  could  not  be  persuaded.  They  re- 
tired from  the  enterprise  then  and  there. 

Under  the  conduct  of  the  young  man,  the  two  Old 
Codgers  left  the  room,  and  returned  to  the  Committee 
who  v/ere  waiting  with  the  mules  outside;  and  with 
them  went  Toby  and  Mr.  Punch  and  Mr.  Hanlon,  to 
bring  back  that  portion  of  the  treasure  which  was  to 
pay  for  the  six  hour-glasses. 

This  was  a  work  of  much  difficulty,  and  occupied  a 
great  deal  of  time.  While  it  was  going  on,  the  Rug- 
Merchant,  having  first  asked  permission,  reclined  again 
on  the  divan  and  resumed  his  pipe,  while  Aunt  Amanda, 
Freddie,  and  the  Churchwarden  seated  themselves,  at 
his  invitation,  and  watched  him  in  silence. 

The  treasure  was  at  length  piled,  complete,  in  a  cor- 
ner of  the  room.    Toby,  Mr.  Punch,  and  Mr.  Hanlon 


194  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

returned  for  the  last  time,  and  without  the  great-great- 
grandson  of  the  Rug-Merchant. 

"The  others  will  wait  outside  for  an  hour,"  said 
Toby.  "If  we  don't  come  back  by  that  time,  they'll 
go  on  into  the  city  without  us." 

Shiraz  the  Rug-Merchant  laid  down  the  stem  of 
his  pipe,  and  rising  bowed  to  Aunt  Amanda  with  great 
deference. 

"Permit  me,  most  gracious  lady,"  said  he,  "to  see 
the  fingers  of  your  left  hand." 

He  took  In  his  own  right  hand  the  third  finger  of 
Aunt  Amanda's  left,  and  bent  his  eyes  close  over  it.  He 
straightened  himself  up  with  a  long  breath,  and  cross- 
ing his  arms  upon  his  breast,  made  a  low  salaam. 

"It  Is  as  I  thought,"  said  he.  "The  mark  is  here, 
on  the  third  finger  of  the  left  hand.  Highness,"  said 
he,  bowing  lower,  "I  pray  you  accept  your  servant's 
salutation  on  your  return,"  And  raising  her  hand  to 
his  lips,  he  kissed  It  in  a  very  courtly  manner. 

"Goodness  alive!"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  turning  as 
red  as  a  rose,  "you  make  me  feel  too  foolish  for  any- 
thing." 

"You  have  been  away  a  long  time,"  said  Shiraz,  "but 
you  have  returned.  Happy  am  I  to  be  the  first  to  greet 
you  on  your  return.  You  and  the  others  have  all  been 
enchanted.  You  are  six  enchanted  souls,  and  In  your 
present  shapes  not  one  of  you  Is  himself.  I  suppose 
you  do  not  know  that  you  are  enchanted;  you  think 
that  you  are  yourselves;  is  it  not  so?  I  assure  you  It 
is  a  mistake;  but  I  can  put  you  in  the  way  of  correcting 
your  errors,  and  restoring  yourselves  to  your  true 
shapes,  if  you  desire  It.  Madam,"  said  he,  bowing 
again  to  Aunt  Amanda,  "I  await  your  commands." 

"I  reckon  we  all  want  to  be  corrected,"  said  Aunt 
Amanda.  "It's  what  we've  come  here  for.  We've 
come  a  long  way  to  this  Island,  and  for  nothing  on 


SIX  ENCHANTED  SOULS  195 

earth  but  to  be  corrected,  If  there's  any  way  to  do  it 
If  you  can  do  it,  go  ahead." 

"Hearing  is  obedience,"  said  Shiraz.  "Please  to 
take  the  hour-glasses." 

Each  one  took  up  an  hour-glass  from  the  table  and 
held  it  in  his  hand. 

"It  is  necessary,"  said  Shiraz,  "to  destroy  the  sands 
in  the  glasses.  If  they  can  be  destroyed,  the  enchant- 
ment will  be  over.  There  is  no  power  on  earth  which 
can  destroy  the  sands  but  one,  and  that  is  the  White 
Fire  of  the  Preserver.     Will  you  risk  the  fire?" 

"I  will,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  now  somewhat  pale; 
and  the  others  nodded  assent. 

"Then  I  will  give  you  the  White  Robes,"  said 
Shiraz.  "Without  them  you  can  not  withstand  the 
Fire." 

He  went  to  a  wall  and  drew  from  behind  the  hang- 
ings a  box,  which  he  opened  on  the  table.  From 
this  box  he  took  six  white  linen  gowns,  and  at  his  direc- 
tion each  put  on  one  of  the  gowns.  Freddie's  was 
much  too  long,  and  he  was  obliged  to  hold  it  up. 

"Well,"  said  Toby,  "I  always  did  look  ridiculous  in 
a  nightgown,  but  this  beats — " 

"Peace,"  said  Shiraz.  "The  Fire  will  not  harm  you 
now.  Two  things  only  are  necessary :  to  fear  nothing, 
and  to  hold  tight  to  the  hour-glasses." 

With  these  words  he  clapped  his  hands,  and  from 
behind  the  hangings  on  the  rear  wall  stepped  a  black 
man,  clad  in  a  robe  similar  to  the  others.  To  this 
man  the  Persian  spoke  in  some  strange  tongue,  and 
the  man  bowed. 

"Now,"  said  Shiraz,  "you  will  follow  my  servant. 
Farewell,  and  peace  be  with  you." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

FROM    THE    FIRE    BACK    TO    THE    FRYING    PAN 


T 


^HE  WHITE-ROBED  figures,  having  left  the 
room  by  a  small  circular  door  behind  the  hang- 
ings, followed  the  black  servant  along  a  pitch- 
dark  passage,  and  in  a  few  moments  came  to  a  bridge, 
similar  to  the  one  they  had  crossed  before.  As  they 
felt  their  way  over  it  cautiously  one  by  one,  the  sound 
of  rushing  water  came  to  them  from  below,  and  a 
cold  breeze  fanned  their  cheeks.  A  little  further  on 
they  touched  the  first  step  of  a  stair,  and  began  to  as- 
cend its  worn  stone  treads.  They  mounted  some  thirty 
steps,  and  touching  the  wall  with  their  hands,  moved 
onward  along  a  passage.  This  passage  made  an 
abrupt  turn  to  the  left,  and  when  they  had  cleared  the 
corner  they  saw  in  its  sides  before  them  a  gleam  of 
light  here  and  there. 

"The  Master's  work-rooms,"  said  the  black  servant. 
"Please  to  follow." 

They  passed  now  and  then  beneath  a  lighted  win- 
dow, too  high  to  be  seen  through,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  passage  the  servant  paused  before  a  closed  iron 
door.  He  opened  this  door  with  a  key,  and  led  them 
forth. 

Before  them  was  a  garden,  the  most  beautiful  that 
•any  of  them  had  ever  seen.  High  over  it  was  a  dome 
of  pale  green  and  amber  glass,  through  which  the  sun- 
light streamed  in  mild  and  parti-coloured  rays.  The 
walls  which  supported  the  dome  were  so  high  that  it 
was  impossible  to  see  beyond.     In  the  center  was  a 

196 


BACK  TO  THE  FRYING  PAN  197 

fountain,  dropping  in  a  sparkling  shower  into  a  marble 
basin;  around  it  spread  a  well-ordered  carpet  of  flow- 
ers, of  all  the  colours,  as  it  seemed,  of  the  rainbow; 
along  the  walls  were  cocoa  palms,  banana  trees,  and 
the  feathery  bamboo;  white  cockatoos  sailed  across 
from  palm  to  palm;  the  air  was  heavy  with  a  warm 
odour  of  moist  earth  and  blossoms.  The  whole  party 
drew  a  deep  breath  of  pleasure.  The  dark  place  from 
which  they  had  come  seemed  to  fade  away  like  a  dream 
before  the  soft  beauty  of  the  garden. 

The  servant  led  them  to  the  opposite  side,  and  un- 
locked a  door  in  the  wall,  making  way  for  them  to 
pass  in  before  him.  They  entered,  and  heard  the 
door  locked  behind  them;  the  servant  was  no  longer 
with  them;  they  were  alone  in  a  small  square  room,  of 
stone  walls  and  an  earthen  floor;  there  was  no  open- 
ing, but  In  the  opposite  wall  was  a  closed  door.  A 
pale  light  pervaded  the  place,  from  what  source  they 
could  not  discover.  In  the  earthen  floor  from  wall 
to  wall  grew  a  thicket  of  stiff  stalks,  higher  than  Fred- 
die's head,  and  clustered  closely  around  each  stalk  from 
bottom  to  top  were  flowers  of  a  waxen  whiteness. 

"It  seems  a  real  pity,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "to  break 
those  pretty  plants,  but  I  reckon  we've  got  to  wade 
into  them.  I'm  mighty  curious  to  see  what's  on  the 
other  side  of  that  door.  Probably  the  fire  the  old  man 
was  talking  about.  Oh,  dear,  I  don't  like  fire.  But 
pve've  got  to  get  to  that  door,  so  come  along." 

The  whole  party  moved  in  a  body  into  the  thicket  of 
waxen  stalks. 

As  they  stepped  In,  the  stalks  broke  around  them 
with  sharp  reports.  They  moved  on  again,  and  the 
reports,  as  the  stalks  broke,  became  louder  and 
louder;  and  now  each  one  felt  the  hour-glass  in  his 
hand  being  tugged  at,  and  found  that  wherever  his 
hand  touched  a  flower,  the  petals  flattened  themselves 
on  the  hand  and  the  glass,  and  clung  so  tight  that  It 


198  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

took  a  hard  jerk  to  get  them  loose.  There  was  dan- 
ger of  losing  the  glasses,  and  with  one  accord  they 
held  the  glasses  high  above  their  heads.  The  moment 
they  did  so,  the  conduct  of  the  stalks  became  terrifying 
indeed. 

As  if  in  anger,  the  broken  stalks  spouted  forth, 
with  a  hiss  and  a  rush,  blinding  jets  of  liquid  white 
fire,  which  tore  at  the  ceiling  angrily  and  roared  and 
crackled.  From  the  broken  stalks  it  spread  to  the 
others,  and  In  a  moment  jets  of  liquid  white  fire  were 
blazing  and  crackling  upward  from  all  the  stalks  in 
the  room,  and  the  terrified  captives  were  in  the  very 
midst  of  it. 

It  ran  up  their  robes  and  showered  on  them,  from 
the  ceiling;  it  became  denser  and  angrier;  it  was  all  but 
unbearable,  though  they  felt  it  in  only  a  tiny  fraction  of 
its  real  strength;  in  another  instant  the  frail  white 
gowns  must  surely  be  consumed.  But  in  some  strange 
way  the  gowns  shed  off  the  liquid  fire,  and  remained 
unscorched. 

For  a  moment  the  sufferers  were  stupefied.  They 
were  unable  to  move.  Freddie  tried  to  scream,  but 
he  could  make  no  sound;  he  almost  fainted  away;  but 
he  felt,  through  it  all,  the  sturdy  arm  of  Mr.  Toby 
tight  about  him. 

They  pushed  on  in  a  close  body  and  passed  the  cen- 
ter of  the  room;  the  white  glare  became  more  blinding, 
the  roar  and  crackle  more  deafening;  they  were  sur- 
rounded, cut  off,  in  the  midst  of  destruction;  they  were 
bewildered;  they  stopped  again;  there  was  no  use  in 
going  back;  they  must  get  forward  through  the  furnace 
at  any  cost;  they  made  a  new  start;  and  in  a  frenzy 
of  terror,  their  hands  before  their  eyes,  with  a  rush 
they  gained  the  door.  They  crowded  against  it;  they 
pushed  and  beat  upon  it;  it  gave  way  before  them; 
they  rushed  through,  and  it  closed  behind  them  of  its 
own  accord. 


BACK  TO  THE  FRYING  PAN  1 99 

They  were  standing  in  broad  daylight  on  the  side- 
walk of  a  city  street,  under  a  high  blank  wall,  with 
shops  on  the  opposite  side;  each  with  an  hour-glass, 
empty  of  sand,  in  his  right  hand,  and  each  clad  only 
In  a  long  white  night-gown. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

DISENCHANTMENT    COMPLETE 

THEY  looked  behind  them.  A  high  stone  wall 
rose  at  their  backs,  and  in  it  was  no  sign  of  a 
door. 

They  looked  across  the  street.  It  was  a  narrow 
street,  paved  with  cobble-stones;  on  the  opposite  side, 
where  a  row  of  little  low  shops  stretched  away  on 
either  hand,  a  few  people  were  going  in  and  out  at  the 
doors,  and  a  few  others  were  walking  at  some  distance, 
before  the  shop-windows.  An  ox-cart  was  coming  slow- 
ly down  the  street. 

Freddie  had  sometimes  dreamed  of  being  out  among 
people  in  broad  daylight  in  his  night-gown,  and  he  now 
felt  the  same  terror  he  had  felt  in  those  dreams;  he 
looked  anxiously  at  the  shops  for  a  place  in  which  to 
hide.  No  one  appeared  to  observe  them  yet,  but  they 
would  soon  be  seen,  and  it  would  be  dreadful,  unless 
they  could  find  shelter  without  a  moment's  delay. 

"We  had  better  run  into  one  of  those  shops,"  said 
he,  breathlessly,  "and  ask  them  to  hide  us  until  we 
can  get  some  clothes." 

"Ah,  no,"  said  a  soft  voice  beside  him,  at  his  right. 
"It  is  not  a  shop  that  I  must  go  to  now.  I  must 
hurry   home." 

Freddie  looked  around  at  his  right  for  Aunt 
Amanda.  There  was  no  Aunt  Amanda.  In  her  place, 
holding  an  empty  hour-glass  in  her  right  hand,  was 
a  lady,  the  fairest  whom  Freddie  had  ever  seen.  She 
was  young;  her  eyes  were  of  the  blue  of  summer  skies; 

200 


DISENCHANTMENT  COMPLETE      201 

her  hair  was  golden  yellow;  on  her  soft  white  cheek 
was  a  tinge  of  pink;  two  heavy  braids  of  hair  hung 
almost  to  her  knees;  her  eyes  were  sparkling  with 
happiness,  and  a  tender  and  wistful  smile  curved  her 
lips.  As  Freddie  gazed  at  her,  he  thought  that  there 
could  not  be  in  the  world  another  so  radiantly  beautiful. 
She  looked  about  her  as  one  who  sees  familiar  things 
after  a  long  absence. 

Freddie's  eyes  fell  to  the  hand  which  was  nearest 
him,  her  left.  On  the  third  finger  of  her  left  hand 
was  a  ruby  ring. 

"Are  you,"  he  faltered,  "are  you — Aunt  Amanda?" 

*'J  think,"  she  said,  smiling  on  him,  "I  think  I  was, 
once.  I  think  I  can  remember  that  name.  And  you 
are — let  me  see;  what  was  your  name?  Ah,  yes,  your 
name  was  Freddie.  But  we  must  hurry;  we  must  not 
keep  them  waiting." 

Freddie  turned,  and  saw  beside  him  four  strange 
men,  all  gazing  at  the  beautiful  lady  in  amazement. 
In  the  right  hand  of  each  was  an  empty  hour-glass. 

Freddie  looked  down  on  the  two  men  who  stood 
nearest  him;  he  looked  dozvn  on  them;  he  was  sud- 
denly aware  that  he  was  not  looking  up.  They  were 
short,  for  full-grown  men,  and  of  precisely  the  same 
height;  their  faces  were  square,  their  cheek-bones  prom- 
inent, and  their  noses  hooked;  the  head  of  one  was 
bald,  and  the  hair  of  the  other's  head  lay  flat  down 
on  his  forehead  where  it  curved  back  like  a  hairpin; 
except  for  their  heads,  they  were  In  all  respects  twins. 
There  was  no  hump  on  the  back  of  either  of  them. 

"Mr.  Punch  and  Mr.  Toby!"  said  Freddie. 

"The  wery  same,"  said  the  bald-headed  one. 

"That's  me,"  said  the  other. 

Behind  Mr.  Toby  stood  a  lean  man  in  spectacles. 
His  night-gown  hung  upon  him  very  loosely,  and  he 
was  very  spare  indeed.  His  smooth-shaven  cheeks 
were  somewhat  hollow;  his  eyes  behind  his  glasses  were 


202  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

deep  and  solemn;  his  frame  was  the  frame  of  one  who 
subdues  the  flesh  by  fasting;  snow-white  hair,  curling 
inward  at  the  back  of  his  neck,  made  a  kind  of  aureole 
around  his  thin  face;  he  looked  for  all  the  world  as 
he  stood  barefoot  in  his  long  white  gown,  like  one  of 
those  saints  you  see  in  painted  glass  windows  in  a 
church. 

"Is  it,"  said  Freddie,  hesitating,  "is  it — the  Church- 
warden?" 

"I  have  reason  to  believe,"  said  the  saintly  looking 
man,  "that  I  have  been  known  by  that  name.  But 
I  am  in  reality,  and  always  have  been,  in  reality,  some- 
thing far  more  lowly  than  a  churchwarden;  I  am,  and 
always  have  been,  at  heart,  a  meek  and  humble  fol- 
lower of  the  holy  Thomas  a  Kempis,  whose  life  of 
serene  and  cloistered  sanctity  I  have  always  wished  to 
imitate.  Now  that  I  am  myself,  it  is  my  ambition  to 
be  known,  if  it  is  not  too  presumptuous  to  say  so, 
as  Thomas  the  Inferior.      Pax  vobiscum." 

"I  ain't  got  the  least  idea  what  that  means,"  said 
Toby,  "but  anyway  it's  the  Churchwarden's  voice, 
whether  he  calls  himself  Thomas  the  Inferior  or  Dan- 
iel the  Deleterious.  You're  heartily  welcome,  War- 
den, and  I  hope  you  won't  mind  my  saying  that  a 
good  meal  wouldn't  do  you  any  harm,  from  the  looks 
of  you.  I'm  pretty  near  starved  to  death  myself. 
Mr.  Punch,  we've  got  rid  of  our  humps,^  as  sure  as 
you're  born.  We're  as  straight  in  our  bodies  as  we've 
always  been  In  our  minds,  and  that's  as  straight  as  a 
string.  By  crackey,  I  never  felt  so  fine  in  my  life; 
blamed  if  I  couldn't  lick  my  weight  in  wildcats." 

"Hi  'ave  no  wish  to  do  so,"  said  Mr.  Punch.  "Hi 
do  not  desire  to  engage  in  any  conflict  whatever;  Hi 
should  regard  such  conduct  as  wery  reprehensible; 
wery.  But  one  cannot  but  admit,  harfter  one's  back 
'as  been  so  long  out  of  correct  proportion,  as  one  rnay 
s'y,   that  one   enjoys  a   wery  pronounced  satisfaction 


DISENCHANTMENT  COMPLETE      203 

when  one  feels  one's  self  restored  to  one's  rightful 
position  as  a  hupright  person,  in  common  with  one's 
fellow—" 

"What  about  Mr.  Hanlon?"  said  Toby,  turning 
around. 

"Michael  Hanlon,  prisent!"  said  a  cheerful  voice. 

Behind  the  Inferior  Thomas  stood  a  tall  and  hand- 
some man,  the  picture  of  an  athlete  in  the  prime  of 
condition.  Short  curling  black  hair  clustered  on  his 
head;  his  eyes  were  of  a  humorous  dark  blue;  his 
cheeks  were  like  red  apples;  his  shoulders  were  mus- 
cular, his  back  was  straight,  his  figure  slim;  and  he 
wore  his  night-gown  as  a  Greek  runner  in  ancient 
times  might  have  worn  his  robe  after  the  games. 

"What!"  said  Freddie.      "Can  you  talk?" 

"Faith,"  said  Mr.  Hanlon,  "I've  a  tongue  in  me 
head  that  can  wag  with  anny  that  iver  come  off  the 
blarney  stone,  and  it's  no  lies  I'm  tellin'  ye.  For  an 
Irish  gintleman  to  have  to  listen  and  listen,  and  kape 
his  tongue  still  in  his  head  and  say  niver  a  worrd 
at  all,  at  all,  'tis  a  hard  life,  me  frinds,  a  hard  life, 
and  it's  plaised  I  am  to  be  mesilf  at  last,  and  the  nate 
bit  of  tongue  doin'  his  duty  like  a  thrue  son  of  Erin — I 
could  tell  ye  a  swate  little  shtory  that  comes  to  me 
mind,  of  a  dumb  Irishman  that  could  not  spake  at 
all,  at  all,  and  the  deaf  wife  of  him  that  could  not 
hear,  and  their  twelve  pigs  all  lyin'  down  in  the  mud 
with  wan  of  thim  standing  up  and  crying  out  that  the 
wolf  was  comin'  in  through  the  gate,  and  the  good 
wife  unable  to  hear  and  the  good  man  unable  to 
spake — " 

"I  reckon  you've  got  your  tongue,  all  right,"  said 
Toby.  "I  wish  we  had  time  to  hear  that  story,  but  we 
haven't.  Now,  Freddie,  what  do  you  think  we'd  better 
— Why,  Freddie  !  What's  that  you've  got  on  your  lip?" 

Freddie  put  his  hand  to  his  upper  lip.  What  he  felt 
there  was  a  tiny  silken  mustache.     He  blushed. 


204  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"And  'e's  taller  than  any  of  us  except  Mr.  'Anion!" 
exclaimed  Mr.  Punch.      "My  word!" 

Freddie  looked  down  at  Mr.  Punch,  and  realized 
his  own  height.  He  looked  at  his  hands,  and  they 
were  almost  as  large  as  Mr.  Hanlon's.  His  night- 
gown came  to  his  ankles,  and  he  realized  that  he  was 
no  longer  holding  it  up. 

"Why,"  he  said,  "I  must  be  grown  up!" 

"Grown  up  is  the  word,"  said  Toby,  "but  I'd  'a' 
known  you  anywhere.  Twenty-one  years  old,  I  should 
say." 

"Twenty-two,"  said  Mr.  Punch. 

Everyone  now  fell  silent.  The  young  and  lovely 
lady,  who  had  said  nothing  during  their  talk,  was 
smiling  from  one  to  another.  She  seemed  to  feel  no 
embarrassment  nor  concern,  nor  anything  Indeed  but 
happiness.  She  looked  at  Toby  with  a  smile,  and  all 
the  men  looked  at  her. 

"Do  you  know  me?"  she  said  to  Toby. 

"You  are  changed,"  said  he,  "that's  a  fact.  But  I 
always  knew  that  Aunt  Amanda  was  like  that,  down 
deep  inside  of  her.  If  she  could  only  have  looked  like 
what  she  was,  that's  the  way  she  would  have  looked, 
and  I  always  knew  it.  I'm  glad  you've  come  to  look 
like  yourself  at  last." 

"Ah!"  said  the  beautiful  lady.  "I  am  glad  you 
don't  feel  that  I  am  strange  to  you.  I  know  you 
all  now,  better  than  I  have  ever  known  you.  You 
have  been  with  me  a  long  while,  under  disguise.  I 
don't  seem  to  remember  very  well  what  your  disguises 
were,  for  I  seem  to  have  known  you  always  as  you 
are:  my  loyal  knight,"  (turning  to  Freddie),  "my 
body-guard,"  (turning  to  Mr.  Toby  and  Mr.  Punch), 
"my  confessor,"  (turning  to  Thomas  the  Inferior), 
"and  my  courier,"  (turning  to  Mr.  Hanlon).  "In 
my  exile  you  have  been  with  me,  and  in  my  home- 
coming you   shall  be   with   me   still." 


DISENCHANTMENT  COMPLETE      205 

"We  hope  to  be  with  you  always,"  said  the  tall 
young  knight  who  used  to  be  Freddie.  "But  we  are 
beginning  to  be  noticed.  I  have  seen  one  or  two 
people  stare  from  the  shop  windows.  We  had  better 
hurry  to  one  of  those  shops  and  seek  refuge  until 
we  can  find  proper  clothes." 

"Ah,  no!"  said  the  lady,  with  a  radiant  smile.  "I 
must  hasten  home.  They  have  been  waiting  a  long 
time,  and  I  must  not  lose  a  moment.  I  know  the  way! 
This  street  is  changed  since  I  was  here,  but  I  know 
it !  I  know  the  way !  Come  with  me !  I  am  going 
home!" 

She  placed  her  empty  hour-glass  In  Freddie's  hand, 
and  led  the  way  up  the  street.  Her  bare  feet  trod 
the  pavement  swiftly;  she  walked  as  if  she  had  never 
known  what  it  was  to  be  lame;  she  went  swimmingly, 
with  a  motion  of  infinite  grace.  The  others  looked 
about  them,  uneasily,  as  they  followed,  but  she  seemed 
to  care  nothing  for  the  eyes  of  the  people.  The  ox- 
cart stopped  as  it  came  to  them,  and  the  driver  who 
was  walking  beside  It  stopped  also,  and  gazed  at  them 
with  his  mouth  open.  Faces  appeared  at  shop-windows 
as  they  went  by,  and  figures  appeared  at  shop-doors. 
Two  or  three  foot-passengers  passed  them,  and  after 
they  had  gone,  went  to  the  nearest  shop-door  and 
stood  there  for  a  moment  in  talk  with  the  shop-keeper. 
They  then  began  to  follow  the  strange  white-clad  group 
up  the  street.  In  a  few  moments  others  joined  them. 
Freddie  looked  behind,  and  wished  to  run;  but  the 
lady  who  was  leading  paid  no  attention. 

A  little  further  on  she  turned  a  corner,  and  the  party 
found  themselves  in  a  much  busier  street.  The  side- 
walks were  alive  with  people.  In  a  moment  there 
was  a  great  silence.  When  the  six  figures  first  ap- 
peared, some  of  the  people  began  to  laugh.  Then 
they  looked  at  the  face  of  the  lady  who  swept  along 
In  advance  of  her  attendants,   and  they  laughed  no 


2o6  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

more.  They  began  to  whisper  one  to  another.  They 
fell  apart,  and  made  way  for  her  and  her  attendants. 
They  stopped;  they  forgot  their  own  affairs;  some  ran 
into  the  shops  and  called  out  the  persons  who  were 
within;  they  gaped,  and  whispered,  and  nodded,  and 
held  up  their  hands,  and  with  one  accord  began  to 
follow. 

Further  on,  heads  appeared  from  the  windows  of 
pleasure-towers  and  pleasure-domes;  doors  opened;  all 
who  could  walk  joined  themselves  to  the  crowd  which 
was  following  the  wondrous  lady  and  her  five  strange 
companions. 

Deeper  and  deeper  into  the  city;  on  past  the  region 
of  shops  into  the  region  of  gardens  and  mansions;  up 
by  a  gradual  ascent  to  the  place  of  the  largest  and  tall- 
est towers  and  domes;  on  they  went,  the  six  white-gown- 
ed and  bare-footed  figures  before,  and  the  crowd  be- 
hind; and  the  further  they  went,  the  greater  became 
the  crowd;  and  still  there  was  no  sound  from  the 
people,  except  the  sound  of  an  awestruck  whispering. 

The  dark  cloud  on  the  mountain-top  was  now  plainly 
In  view  before  them  between  the  towers  and  domes, 
and  they  could  see  the  great  mass  of  the  King's  Tower 
where  it  rose  to  the  cloud  and  lost  itself  within  It.  At 
the  end  of  the  street  which  they  were  now  following 
a  majestic  gateway  could  be  seen,  and  beyond  It  a  park. 

Behind  them  the  street  was  choked  from  wall  to  wall 
with  a  vast  multitude.  From  every  house,  as  the  mul- 
titude passed,  its  people  poured  forth  and  joined  the 
throng;  business  was  forgotten;  shops  and  houses  were 
deserted;  It  seemed  as  If  the  whole  city  was  in  the 
street,  following  the  lady  and  her  five  attendants.  She 
looked  not  behind  her  once.  She  seemed  to  be  un- 
aware of  anything  In  the  world  about  her;  her  eyes 
shone  like  stars;  she  had  forgotten  even  her  compan- 
ions; she  spoke  not  a  word,  but  looked  forward  to 
the  stately  gateway  and  the  park  beyond.     Still  no 


DISENCHANTMENT  COMPLETE      207 

sound  came  from  the  multitude,  except  a  sound  of  whis- 
pering. 

They  reached  the  gateway.  On  each  side  was  a 
great  stone  pillar,  supporting  a  gate  of  massive  bronze. 
The  gates  were  open.  Without  an  instant's  hesitation 
she  led  the  way  within,  and  as  she  did  so  placed  her 
left  hand  on  her  heart.  The  throng  seemed  to  waver 
a  moment,  and  then  as  the  six  barefoot  and  white- 
gowned  figures  moved  swiftly  up  the  driveway  into  the 
park,  it  flowed  In  silently  between  the  gates,  and  fol- 
lowed at  a  respectful  distance. 

Before  them,  at  a  distance,  on  a  knoll  from  which 
terraces  of  velvet  grass  descended,  stood  the  palace 
of  the  King;  white  and  broad  and  flat-roofed. 

Passing  a  grove  of  trees,  the  lady  left  the  roadway 
and  stepped  into  the  smooth  grass  of  a  lawn,  and 
sped  across  it  directly  towards  the  terraces  before  the 
palace  of  the  King.  She  mounted  the  gentle  slope, 
her  five  friends  following  her;  and  the  vast  throng, 
filling  the  park  to  the  gates,  came  on  behind.  She 
reached  the  first  terrace;  her  hand  was  still  on  her 
heart.    A  dog  barked. 

Windows  in  the  palace  front  began  to  go  up,  and 
faces  to  appear.  From  an  archway  sprang  a  pack  of 
beautiful  tall  white  curly-haired  dogs,  and  rushed  on 
the  lady,  barking.  Freddie  made  as  if  to  protect  her, 
but  she  waved  him  back  with  a  smile.  The  dogs 
sprang  up  as  if  to  devour  her,  but  they  did  no  harm; 
they  barked  as  if  their  throats  would  burst;  they 
leaped  and  gambolled  about  her;  they  thrust  their  noses 
into  her  hand;  they  almost  spoke;  and  in  the  midst  of 
it  there  appeared  upon  the  wide  steps  before  the  pal- 
ace door  a  noble-looking  man,  and  beside  him  three 
children. 

At  sight  of  this  man  and  the  children,  the  lady  cov- 
ered her  eyes  for  an  instant  with  her  hands,  and  gave 
a  sob;  but  she  quickly  looked  up,  and  sped  on  more 


2o8  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

swiftly  than  before,  her  hands  hanging  beside  her,  and 
a  bright  misty  look  in  her  eyes. 

The  man  upon  the  palace  steps  shaded  his  eyes  with 
his  hands,  and  gazed  upon  her  and  the  multitude  spread 
out  across  the  park  behind  her.  One  of  the  children, 
a  tiny  boy,  he  took  by  the  hand,  and  another,  a  girl 
a  little  older,  he  grasped  with  his  other  hand;  and 
with  the  third,  a  boy  of  something  over  nine,  beside 
them,  they  all  four  came  down  the  steps  and  crossed  the 
terrace  to  meet  the  radiant  lady. 

On  the  next  terrace  they  met.  He  dropped  his  chil- 
dren's hands,  and  stopped.  He  was  a  man  of  some 
thirty  years,  richly  clad,  and  handsome  beyond  meas- 
ure. As  he  stopped,  the  multitude  found  Its  voice. 
A  mighty  shout  went  up. 

"Long  live  the  King!     Long  live  the  King!" 

He  paid  no  attention.  His  eyes  were  on  the  fair 
lady  before  him.  A  cry  from  the  oldest  boy  rang 
out  clear  and  sharp  in  the  silence. 

"Mother!" 

The  King  held  out  his  arms. 

"My  darling!"  he  cried.      "At  last!    At  last!" 

"Beloved!"  she  cried,  and  rushed  into  his  arms,  and 
buried  her  face  in  his  shoulder. 

The  children  clung  to  her,  weeping,  and  with  one 
arm  she  pressed  them  close  against  her  side. 

The  multitude  found  its  voice  again. 

"Long  live  Queem  Miranda!  Long  live  Queen 
Miranda!" 


T 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

«KTr1  HERE'S  an  Old  Man,"  said  Robert  to  Fred- 
die. "He  lives  on  the  mountain.  I  saw 
him  once." 

They  were  sitting  on  the  palace  lawn,  looking  up 
at  the  mountain  which  rose  behind  the  King's  tower. 
The  sun  was  directly  overhead,  and  was  accordingly 
hidden  by  the  cloud.  The  lower  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tain were  easy  and  gradual,  but  they  grew  steeper  as 
they  ascended,  and  at  the  point  where  the  mountain 
entered  the  cloud  it  was  a  straight  and  smooth  wall 
of  granite,  plainly  impossible  to  climb.  The  King's 
eldest  child  fixed  his  big  eyes  on  the  tall  young  man 
beside  him. 

"I  like  you,"  said  he.  "I  wish  you  would  take  me 
up  the  mountain  some  time  for  blackberries.  Will 
you?" 

"If  the  Queen  permits,"  said  Freddie,  "we  will  go 
tomorrow." 

A  long  time  had  passed  since  the  Queen's  return; 
a  happy  time,  during  which  the  five  who  had  come 
with  the  Queen  were  made  to  feel  as  if  they  had  lived 
all  their  lives  in  a  palace.  The  two  Old  Codgers 
were  found  by  Toby,  comfortably  established  in  a 
double  shop  of  their  own,  on  one  side  of  which  the 
Old  Codger  with  the  Wooden  Leg  sold  tobacco,  and 
on  the  other  side  of  which  the  Sly  Old  Fox  sold 
jewelry;  each  of  them  entirely  contented  with  his  for- 
tune,  and  settled  down  for  life.     The  Third  Vice- 

209 


210  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

President  had  paid  his  respects  at  the  palace,  and  was 
unable  to  talk  of  anything  but  his  Museum,  for  which 
he  was  devising  many  plans,  including  a  method  where- 
by the  late  Mr.  Matthew  Speak  might  be  assured 
agamst  ever  being  blown  out  of  the  window. 

The  saintly  person  who  had  once  been  the  Church- 
warden was  occupied  nowadays,  in  a  little  room  in 
the  basement  of  the  palace,  in  copying  in  beautiful  let- 
ters an  ancient  book  belonging  to  the  King. 

Mr.  Punch  and  Mr.  Toby  spent  their  time  in  ex- 
ploring the  city,  arm  in  arm,  very  inquisitive,  very 
talkative,  and  making  friends  with  everybody. 

Mr.  Hanlon's  work  in  life  was,  it  appeared,  the 
climbing  of  the  King's  Tower.  Every  day  he  dis- 
appeared within,  and  every  day  he  declared  that  he 
would  mount  to  the  top  before  he  finished;  but  he 
had  not  yet  got  to  the  top,  and  there  did  not  seem 
much  prospect  of  his  ever  doing  so. 

As  for  Freddie, — not  that  he  was  called  Freddie 
now;  the  King  had  given  him  a  high-sounding  name, — 
the  Chevalier  Frederick;  and  by  that  name  he  was 
spoken  of  by  everybody,  except  that  Toby  sometimes 
forgot  and  called  him  the  Chandelier.  As  for  the 
Chevalier  Frederick,  his  interest  was  mainly  in  the 
Queen's  three  children,  Robert,  Genevieve,  and  James; 
and  at  the  present  moment  the  oldest,  Robert,  was 
sitting  with  the  Chevalier  on  the  palace  lawn,  gossiping. 
I  "We  will  go  tomorrow,"  the  Chevalier  was  saying, 
J  and  then  the  little  boy  Robert  went  on  about  the  old 
man  he  had  seen  on  the  mountain. 

"I  saw  him  once,"  said  Robert.  "Just  before  Mother 
went  away.  I  ran  away  from  home,  I  did,  and  I  was 
gone  all  day.  Mother  was  terribly  worried.  I  ran 
away  to  the  mountain,  and  I  was  muddy  all  over  when 
I  got  back,  and  it  was  dark,  too!  Mother  was  ter- 
ribly worried.  I  was  gone  all  day,  I  was;  and  I  didn't 
get  back  until  after  dark,  I  didn't;  and  I  was  muddy 


THE  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN  2 1 1 

all  over.  Oh,  but  it  was  dark.  Mother,  she  was 
terribly  worried."  He  stopped  to  think  it  over,  and 
then  went  on  again.  "There  wasn't  any  Tower  then. 
It  was  just  before  the  old  chap  came  and  built  the 
Tower  in  a  night;  you  know  about  that,  don't  you? 
I  ran  away  and  didn't  come  home  until  after  dark, 
I  didn't;  Mother  was  worried;  and  Jenny — I  never 
call  her  Genevieve,  because  Jenny's  shorter — and  Jenny 
wouldn't  go  because  she  was  afraid,  and  James  was 
too  little,  so  I  went  all  by  myself;  and  it  was  getting 
pretty  dark,  and  I  was  starting  home  down  the  moun- 
tain, because  I  knew  Mother  would  be  worried,  and 
I  saw  the  Old  Man  coming  down  the  mountain,  and 
he  didn't  see  me,  and  he  had  a  pack  on  his  back  and 
a  long  stick  in  his  hand,  and  a  gown  belted  in  about 
the  middle,  and  he  was  kind  of  fat  and  baldheaded; 
and  he  didn't  see  me  but  I  saw  him,  and  pretty  soon  he 
went  down  into  a  gully  and  I  didn't  see  him  any  more, 
and  I  came  on  home,  because  it  was  getting  dark,  and* 
I  knew  Mother  would  be  worried." 

"Then  perhaps  we  had  better  not  go  up  there,"  said 
Freddie. 

"Oh  no,"  said  Robert.  "It's  a  grand  place  to  climb 
and  gather  berries  and  flowers.  And  I'd  like  to  see 
the  Old  Man  again.     Will  you  take  me  there  today?" 

"Tomorrow,"  said  Freddie,  "if  the  Queen  will 
permit." 

At  this  moment  Mr.  Hanlon  appeared,  somewhat 
out  of  breath,  and  he  and  Freddie  went  into  the  palace 
together.     He  was  quite  jubilant. 

"Faith,"  said  he,  "  'tis  a  tower  indade,  that  tower, 
and  a  swate  little  bit  of  a  journey  to  the  top  of  it,  if 
there's  iver  a  top  at  all.  But  it's  Michael  Hanlon 
will  do  it,  by  the  bones  of  St.  Patrick,  and  don't  ye 
forget  what  I'm  tellin'  ye,  me  b'y,  I've  been  up 
there  this  day,  so  high,  so  high — !  I'll  niver  tell  ye 
how  high.     It's  comin'  better;  me  wind  and  me  legs 


212  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

are  better;  in  a  wake,  or  two  wakes,  'tis  meself  will 
be  fit  for  the  grand  ascent,  and  then  there'll  be  news 
from  the  top,  and  a  proud  look  in  the  eye  of  Michael 
Hanlon,  Esquire!   Wait  and  see,  me  b'y!" 

The  next  morning,  Queen  Miranda  having  given  her 
consent,  Freddie  and  Robert  left  the  palace  for  their 
day  on  the  mountain.  All  day  they  wandered  up  the 
trails,  and  in  the  afternoon,  when  their  luncheon  was 
all  gone  and  they  were  tired,  they  began  to  descend. 
It  was  growing  dark;  they  had  had  a  glorious  day,  and 
they  were  sorry  it  would  soon  be  over.  They  stretched 
themselves  on  the  ground  beneath  a  mountain  oak,  and 
looked  below  them,  past  the  Tower,  across  the  roof 
of  the  palace  to  the  city.  There  was  no  living  thing 
in  sight,  except  a  bird  which  sailed  across  their  view 
and  disappeared.  "Well,  Robert,"  said  Freddie,  "I 
suppose  the  Old  Man  who  used  to  be  here  is  gone. 
Come;  we  must  go;  your  mother  will  be  worried." 

They  got  to  their  feet.  As  they  did  so,  a  kind  of 
groan  startled  them.  They  listened.  It  came  again, 
from  some  point  near  by.  Freddie  thought  he  could 
make  out  a  weak  human  voice,  trying  to  call  for  help. 
Drawing  Robert  after  him,  he  climbed  over  a  number 
oi  boulders  and  mounted  to  the  top  of  a  rise  in  the 
ground,  and  looked  down  into  a  deep  gully,  covered 
on  its  sides  with  rocks  and  bushes.  What  he  saw  there 
gave  him  a  start  of  alarm. 

At  the  bottom  was  an  old  man,  lying  on  his  back, 
with  one  leg  doubled  under  him,  his  face  up  to  the  sky. 
From  his  lips  came  a  groan,  followed  by  a  faint  cry 
for  help.  His  head  was  bald,  he  was  rather  stout,  he 
wore  a  long  white  beard,  and  he  was  clad  in  a  short 
dark  gown,  belted  about  the  middle.  His  legs  were 
bare,  and  on  the  foot  which  was  visible  he  wore  a 
sandal. 

Robert  looked  over  Freddie's  shoulder,  and  whis- 


THE  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN  213 

pered  in  his  ear.  "That's  him!  He's  fallen  down 
and  hurt  himself." 

It  was  true.  The  old  man  had  evidently  fallen,  and 
he  was  plainly  suffering.  Freddie  clambered  down  to 
him,  and  knelt  beside  him.  The  old  man  looked  into 
the  young  man's  eyes,  and  said,  in  a  feeble  whisper: 

"My  leg.     Broken.     Help   me   home." 

Freddie  assisted  him  into  a  sitting  position,  and  then 
lifted  him  up  and  held  him. 

"I  cannot  walk,"  said  the  old  man.  "Unless  you 
can  carry  me,  I  must  die  here." 

Freddie  was  properly  proud  of  his  new  strength, 
and  he  believed  that  he  could  carry  the  old  man. 

"Where  do  you  live?"   said  he. 

"Up  the  mountain.  I  will  show  you.  I  beg  you 
to  carry  me  home." 

"I  will  do  my  best,"  said  Freddie. 

He  turned  his  back  to  the  old  man,  and  supporting 
him  at  the  same  time  put  the  old  man's  arms  about 
his  neck,  and  by  a  great  effort  got  the  poor  creature 
on  his  back.  Carrying  him  thus,  he  began  to  go  halt- 
ingly up  the  side  of  the  gully.  The  little  boy  watched 
them  wonderingly. 

It  was  a  terrible  journey.  The  old  man  directed 
Freddie  from  moment  to  moment,  and  the  way  led 
steadily  up  the  mountain,  by  a  course  which  Freddie 
had  not  seen  that  day.  The  burden  on  Freddie's  back 
became  heavier  and  heavier;  he  panted  harder  and 
harder  under  it;  he  stumbled  from  time  to  time,  and 
every  instant  told  himself  that  he  could  go  no  further. 
The  old  man  seemed  to  think  of  nothing  but  of  get- 
ting home.  The  little  boy  followed,  staring  with  big 
eyes. 

Freddie  had  gone  but  a  short  way  up  the  moun- 
tainside when  he  felt  through  all  his  back,  where  it 
touched  the  old  man,  a  chill;  his  shoulders  and  throat, 
where  the  arms  of  the  old  man  touched  them,  became 


214  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

cold;  as  he  struggled  on,  the  chill  increased;  he  felt 
as  if  he  were  hugging  to  his  back  a  burden  of  ice. 

"Are  we  nearly  there?"  he  asked,  trying  to  wipe  a 
cold  perspiration   from  his   forehead. 

"No,  no,"  said  the  old  man.  "Go  on.  A  long  way 
yet.     You  can't  be  tired  so  soon." 

The  cold  upon  Freddie's  back  and  shoulders  and 
throat  became  a  dead  numbness;  he  was  too  cold  to 
shiver;  his  arms  too  were  now  becoming  numb,  and 
he  felt  that  he  could  hold  his  burden  no  longer.  He 
stopped. 

"I  must  put  you  down,"  he  said.  "I  must  rest  a 
moment.      I  don't  know  what  makes  me  so  cold." 

"No,  no,"  said  the  old  man.  "Too  soon!  too  soon! 
Keep  on!" 

"I  cannot,"  said  Freddie.  "I  am  freezing.  My 
strength  is  gone.     I  must  rest." 

With  these  words  he  let  the  old  man  carefully 
down,  and  laid  him  on  the  ground.  He  stood  there 
panting  and  rubbing  his  frozen  hands  together. 

"Stupid  weakling,"  said  the  old  man,  staring  up  at 
him,  "go  and  search  upon  the  mountain-side  and  bring 
me  hither  seeds  of  the  fennel  which  you  will  there  find, 
and  be  quick;  for  I  perish." 

Freddie  and  the  little  boy  hastened  away  together, 
and  at  a  distance  on  the  mountain-side  found,  after 
a  long  search,  a  few  plants  of  the  fennel,  with  which 
they  hurried  back   to   the   old  man. 

He  was  gone. 

They  looked  far  and  near;  they  examined  every 
nook  and  cranny;  the  mountain  was  steep  at  this 
point,  and  difficult  for  any  sound  man;  for  an  old 
man,  crippled,  it  seemed  impossible,  but  he  was  no- 
where to  be  found:  he  was  gone. 

Freddie  and  Robert  turned  homeward,  and  made 
hard  work  of  it.  The  little  boy  became  extremely 
heated  with  his  labor;  but  Freddie  remained  as  cold 


THE  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN  215 

as  ever.  It  is  true  that  he  perspired,  but  the  beads 
upon  his  forehead  were  like  the  beads  upon  ice-cold 
glass.  His  hands  were  so  numb  that  when  he  cut 
them  slightly  on  a  rock  he  felt  no  pain.  His  back, 
where  the  old  man  had  clung  to  it  with  his  body,  was 
coldest  of  all;  he  was  so  stiff  that  he  could  scarcely 
bend  his  arms  or  body;  many  times  the  little  boy  had 
to  help  him  down;  the  chill  spread;  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountain  his  legs  were  nearly  as  cold  as  his 
arms;  when  they  passed  the  Tower,  his  knees  were 
as  if  frozen,  and  would  not  bend;  the  little  boy  put 
his  arm  about  him  and  tried  to  help  him  walk;  he 
began  to  lose  knowledge  of  his  whereabouts;  he  held 
out  a  stiff  arm  before  him,  like  a  blind  man,  and 
dragged  one  foot  after  the  other  like  a  man  whose 
legs  are  made  of  stone.  The  little  boy,  weeping  to 
himself,  took  his  icy  outstretched  hand,  and  led  him 
home. 

The  palace  door  was  thrown  open.  The  little  boy 
rushed  in  with  a  cry,  and  turned  around  to  his  com- 
panion. The  white-faced  rigid  creature  which  was 
Freddie  stood  in  the  doorway,  staring  vacantly,  and  fell 
slowly  forward  on  its  face  upon  the  floor. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE    king's    tower 

FREDDIE  was  very  ill.  He  was  so  ill  that 
after  a  week  the  King  gave  up  all  hope, 
and  believed  he  would  die.  The  Queen  wept 
bitterly;  she  scarcely  left  his  side;  at  night  she  did 
not  sleep  for  weeping,  and  by  day  she  sat  by  his  bed 
and  watched  his  cold  white  face.  His  friends  were 
not  allowed  to  see  him,  and  of  these  it  appeared  that 
Mr.  Hanlon  had  been  gone  for  some  days  up  the 
Tower. 

All  that  the  best  doctors  In  the  city  could  do  had 
been  done,  but  the  Chevalier  was  no  better.  He  lay 
under  the  blankets,  cold  as  ice  and  motionless  as  stone; 
and  his  eyes,  big  round  eyes  like  the  eyes  of  a  child, 
stared  up  strangely  out  of  deep  sockets.  They  looked 
up  at  the  King,  who  was  bending  down  over  the  bed 
and  smiling  encouragingly.  The  Queen  and  her  three 
children,  Robert,  Genevieve,  and  James,  were  stand- 
ing close  by,  but  they  could  not  smile. 

"Come,  Chevalier,"  said  the  King,  "you  will  be  well 
soon,   I   am   sure." 

A  faint  voice  came  from  the  pale  lips;  not  the  voice 
of  a  grown  man,  but  the  voice  of  a  child. 

"That  isn't  my  name,"  it  said,  "my  name  is — 
Fweddie." 

The  King  went  away,  and  took  his  children  with 
him;  and  after  they  had  gone  the  Queen  heard  the 
childish  voice  again  from  the  bed. 

"I  want  to  see  Aunt  Amanda." 

216 


THE  KING'S  TOWER  217 

The  Queen  went  to  him,  and  stood  beside  the  bed. 
He  looked  up   at  her. 

"You  aren't  Aunt  Amanda,"  he  said.  "I  want  to 
see  Aunt  Amanda." 

"I  think  that  was  my  name  once,"  said  the  Queen. 
"Will  you  talk  to  me?"  ^ 

He  looked  at  her  again,  and  she  saw  that  he  did 
not  know  her. 

"My  farver  sent  me,"  he  said.  "Mr.  Toby  has 
gone  to  the  barber-shop,  and  my  farver  he  wants  a 
pound   of   Cage-Roach   Mitchner." 

"Mr.  Toby  is  here  in  the  palace  now,  and  I'm  sure 
he—" 

"I  don't  know  about  any  palace.  I  can't  wait  long. 
My  farver  told  me  to  hurry." 

The  Queen  said  no  more,  and  Freddie  appeared  to' 
go  to  sleep.  The  night  came  on,  and  the  Queen  still 
sat  by  his  side.  It  grew  very  late;  her  children  had 
long  since  gone  to  bed,  and  even  the  King  was  asleep 
in  his  own  apartments.  The  palace  was  silent,  and 
there  was  scarcely  a  light  anywhere  in  the  great  place 
except  the  light  of  a  taper  on  a  table  in  Freddie's  room. 
The  Queen  was  bending  forward,  watching  the  face  on 
the  pillow.  The  eyes  were  closed,  the  lips  were  to- 
gether, and  there  was  no  sign  of  breathing.  She  knew 
that  it  could  not  be  much  longer;  she  buried  her  face 
in  her  hands  and  wept  bitterly. 

A  gentle  tap  upon  the  door  aroused  her.  She  rose 
and  admitted  Mr.  Toby  and  Mr.  Punch,  Thomas  the 
Inferior,  and  Mr.  Hanlon. 

"Quick,  ma'am,"  said  Mr.  Hanlon.  "There's  not 
a  minute  to  be  lost.  If  you  plase,  I'll  ask  ye  to  put 
on  yer  bonnet  in  a  hurry,  ma'am.  We're  off  on  a 
journey,  and  the  poor  sick  young  lad's  coming  along 
with  us.  If  you'll  just  be  in  a  hurry  with  the  bonnet, 
ma  am ! 

The  Queen,  scarcely  realizing  what  she  was  doing, 


2i8  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

left  the  room,  and  went  first  to  the  nursery,  where 
she  bent  over  her  three  sleeping  children  and  kissed 
them  each,  and  murmured  a  loving  good-bye  above 
them,  as  if  she  were  going  to  leave  them;  and  for  a 
long,  long  time  she  gazed  at  each  rosy  face,  as  if  to 
fix  it  in  her  memory  forever. 

When  she  returned  to  the  room,  wearing  a  shawl 
over  her  head  and  shoulders,  she  was  startled  to  see 
that  the  sick  youth  was  sitting  upright  in  a  chair,  thickly 
wrapped  in  blankets.  His  round  childlike  eyes  were 
wide  open,  and  to  her  surprise  a  faint  smile  seemed  to 
hover  about  his  lips. 

She  looked  at  the  others.  Each  held  in  his  hand 
an  empty  hour-glass. 

"Plase  to  get  your  hour-glass,  ma'am,"  said  Mr. 
Hanlon,  "and  Freddie's  too." 

Freddie's  hour-glass  was  soon  found  in  a  drawer 
in  the  same  room;  the  Queen's  she  brought  in  a  mo- 
ment from  another  room. 

Mr.  Hanlon  picked  up  from  the  floor,  where  he  had 
previously  laid  it,  a  sm.all  canvas  bag,  and  placed  it  on 
the  table  under  the  candle.  All  of  the  empty  hour- 
glasses he  placed  upon  the  table,  and  unscrewed  the  part 
of  each  by  which  it  was  designed  to  receive  its  load 
of  sand.  He  lifted  his  bag,  and  out  of  it  poured  into 
each  glass  a  quantity  of  fine  white  sand.  "A  little 
more  or  less  won't  matter  a  mite,"  said  he,  when  he 
had  filled  them  all.  "A  foine  time  I've  had  getting 
the  sand,  'tis  sure,  but  it's  the  true  article,  straight 
from  the  hand  of  the  old  crayture  himself,  and  'tis 
him,  we're  going  to  this  very  minute,  and  the  young 
lad  with  us.  By  the  sand  in  the  hour-glasses  we'll 
get  back  to  the  old  crayture  in  one-tinth  the  time  it 
took  me  to  find  him  without  it,  and  by  the  same 
we'll  get  him  to  save  for  us  the  poor  lad's  life,  or  me 
name's  not  Michael." 

Each  now  took  his  hour-glass  in  his  hand.     They 


THE  KING'S  TOWER  2 1 9 

were  the  same  hour-glasses  they  had  bought  of  Shiraz 
the  Persian,  and  the  sand  which  was  now  in  them  was 
the  same  sort  of  fine  white  sand  which  had  been  in 
them  before  their  ordeal  in  the  fire. 

Mr.  Punch  and  Mr.  Toby  lifted  the  sick  youth  from 
his  chair,  and  carried  him  between  them,  in  a  sitting 
position,  towards  the  door.  Mr.  Hanlon  looked  at 
him  anxiously,  and  commanded  haste. 

In  a  moment  the  whole  party  were  in  the  hall,  and 
in  a  few  moments  more  they  were  crossing  the  lawn 
towards  King's  Tower.  It  was  a  clear  night,  and  the 
sky  was  spangled  with  stars. 

Mr.  Hanlon  opened  the  door  of  the  Tower,  and 
when  they  were  all  within  closed  it  again. 

"Madam  and  gintlemen,"  said  he,  "we  are  going 
to  the  top  of  the  Tower.  I  have  been  there  meself ; 
and  there's  wan  at  the  top  who  can  bring  back  our 
young  frind  to  life,  if  he's  a  mind  to  do  it." 

"Oh!"  gasped  the  Queen  in  terror.  "I  must  not 
go  to  the  top  of  this  tower.  Ah!"  she  stopped  sud- 
denly and  went  on  in  a  determined  voice.  "I  will, 
though.  If  it  is  to  be,  then  it  must  be.  Our  young 
Chevalier  came  here  for  me,  and  I  will  go  with 
him !  If  my  strength  holds  out,  I  will  go  even  to  the 
top  of  the  Tower,  whatever  evil  may  befall  me 
there!" 

"  'Tis  not  strength  that's  needed,  madam,"  said  Mr. 
Hanlon,  "for  the  old  crayture  that  give  me  the  sand 
was  willing  to  help  us  up  to  him,  and  the  sand  will 
make  the  travellln'  easy,  or  else  the  old  haythen  has 
much  desayved  me.  'Twas  all  I  could  do  to  get  to 
the  top,  belave  me,  and  ye'd  niver  do  it  without  the 
sand  in  the  glasses,  let  alone  carry  up  the  young  lad 
in  your  arms  besides.  Now  we'll  be  going  up  the 
stairs,  and  if  the  old  crayture  didn't  desayve  me,  you're 
to  hold  your  hour-glasses  in  your  hands,  and  see  what 
happens." 


220  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Mr.  Hanlon  went  up  first;  then  came  the  Queen, 
and  after  her  Mr.  Punch  and  Mr.  Toby,  bearing  be- 
tween them  in  an  upright  position  the  stiff  cold  form 
of  the  young  Chevalier;  and  last  of  all  came  Thomas 
the  Inferior,  in  his  long  brown  gown  and  sandals. 

Each  climbed  slowly,  but  the  steps  appeared  to  flow 
downward  under  their  feet  with  great  rapidity.  They 
were  not  conscious  of  selecting  any  particular  tread 
to  step  on;  but  while  a  foot  was  rising  from  one  step 
to  the  next,  it  seemed  as  if  a  thousand  steps  were 
passing  downward,  until  the  foot  came  down  and  found 
itself  on  a  perfectly  motionless  tread.  Undoubtedly 
they  were  mounting,  without  unusual  exertion,  a  thou- 
sand steps   at  a  time. 

Even  at  that  rate  of  progress,  the  journey  upward 
seemed  an  endless  one.  They  paused  sometimes  to  go 
into  one  of  the  rooms  on  a  landing  for  a  moment's 
rest,  and  at  those  times  they  looked  out  of  a  window. 
It  was  not  long  before  they  were  so  high  that  on 
looking  out,  the  City's  lights  were  no  more  than  a 
glowing  blur.  At  the  last  Avindow  on  their  upward 
progress  they  looked  up  at  the  cloud;  it  was  immedi- 
ately above  their  heads.  After  that  there  were  no 
more  windows.  They  went  on  upward  in  silence, 
aware  in  the  darkness  of  the  swift  flow  of  steps  down- 
ward under  them  as  they  raised  their  feet.  Each 
observed  that  as  he  raised  his  foot  the  sand  in  his 
hour-glass  flowed  downward  a  thousand  times  more 
i rapidly,  as  If  time  were  suddenly  running  faster  than 
it  was  used  to  running. 

The  walls  of  the  tower  were  by  this  time  coming 
closer  together,  and  the  stair  was  even  steeper  than 
before.  They  were  panting  for  breath,  and  Mr.  Punch 
and  Mr.  Toby  seemed  to  be  all  but  exhausted.  "We 
are  almost  at  the  top,"  said  Mr.  Hanlon.  "Keep 
on.     Don't  give  up." 

It  was  now,  because  there  were  no  more  rooms  nor 


THE  KING'S  TOWER  221 

windows,  completely  dark.  The  face  of  the  sick  youth 
could  not  be  seen,  and  no  one  knew  whether  he  was 
still  living.  Even  the  sand  in  their  hour-glasses  they 
were  now  unable  to  see. 

*'We  are  almost  there,"  said  Mr.  Hanlon.  "Only 
another  minute  or  two.  'Tis  easy  work  to  what  I 
had  in  coming  up  alone." 

Mr.  Punch  gave  a,  groan.  "Hi  carn't  go  another 
step,"  said  he.      "Hi'm  completely — " 

At  this  moment  Mr.  Hanlon  stopped  upon  a  land- 
ing. It  had  been  a  long  while  since  there  had  been 
a  landing,  and  they  were  all  glad  to  rest  upon  it.  They 
crowded  about  Mr.  Hanlon  in  the  dark. 

"The  door  is  over  there,"  said  he.  "Keep  close 
to  me." 

He  walked  a  few  feet  forward  across  the  level  floor, 
and  came  to  a  stop  again. 

"  'Tis  the  top  of  the  tower,"  said  he.  "I  hope 
we're  not  too  late  to  save  the  young  lad's  life.  Stand 
close  behind  me." 

He  moved  forward  again,  and  stopped;  he  was  evi- 
dently feeling  a  wall  with  his  hands. 

"Ah!"  said  he.  "  'Tis  the  door  itself.  Now,  thin, 
we'll  see!" 

He  knocked  upon  the  door  with  his  knuckles. 

There  was  no  response. 

He  knocked  again. 

There  was  a  sound  upon  the  other  side  of  the  door, 
as  of  the  rattling  of  a  chain  and  the  sliding  of  a  bolt. 

A  slit  of  light  appeared  up  and  down  in  the  dark 
wall;  it  became  wider;  it  was  apparent  that  the  door 
was  opening;  and  in  another  moment  the  door  was 
flung  wide,  and  in  the  doorway  stood  an  Old  Man, 
holding  up  in  his  right  hand  a  lantern  in  which  glim- 
mered a  candle. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


THE     SORCERER  S     DEN 


"E  WAS  an  old  man,  rather  stout,  dressed  in 
a  short  gown  tied  in  with  a  cord  about  the 
middle,  and  wearing  sandals  on  his  feet.  He 
stooped  somewhat;  a  white  beard  hung  to  his  waist; 
his  head  was  bald,  except  for  a  forelock  of  white  hair 
which  drooped  over  his  forehead  towards  his  eyes. 
There  was  a  humorous  twinkle  in  his  eye,  and  a  smile 
overspread  his  broad  round  face. 

"  'Tis  the  old  parrty  who  will  cure  the  Chivalier," 
said  Mr,  Hanlon,  behind  his  hand. 

"It's  the  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain,"  whispered 
Toby. 

"It's  the  Magician  who  built  the  Tower,"  whis- 
pered Queen  Miranda,  in  alarm. 

"Hit's  me  own  father,  as  ever  was!"  cried  Mr. 
Punch,  aloud.  "Greetings,  old  dear!  'Ere's  a  sur- 
prise, what?  'Owever  did  you  come  'ere?  Hi'm  no 
end  glad  to  see  you,  and  the  larst  person  Hi  should 
'ave  thought  to  see  in  this — My  word,  what  a  lark!" 

"Come  in.  Punch,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  affably, 
"and  your  friends  too.  I'm  very  glad  to  see  you,  my 
boy.  I've  had  some  trouble  in  getting;  you  here,  bu£ 
here  you  are  at  last,  thanks  to  my  good  friend  Han- 
lon, and  you  are  now  well  out  of  the  hands  of  Shiraz. 
Put  the  Little  Bov  down  in  that  chair,  and  we'll  see 
what  we  can  do  for  him!" 

To  speak  of  a  grown-up  youth  with  a  mustache 
as  a  Little  Boy  seemed  hardly  respectful,  but  Freddie 
did  not  seem  to  mind  it;  indeed,  his  big  round  child- 

222 


THE  SORCERER'S  DEN  223 

like  eyes  dwelt  fondly  on  the  old  man,  and  there  was 
something  like  a  smile  about  his  lips.  He  was  seated 
gently  in  a  chair  within  the  room,  and  while  Mr. 
Punch's  father  set  down  his  lantern  on  a  table,  the 
others  looked  about  them. 

They  were  in  a  small  square  room  with  a  low  ceil- 
ing. By  the  dim  light  of  the  candle  they  could  see  that 
it  was  bare  and  dusty;  cobwebs  hung  in  all  the  corners; 
there  seemed  to  be  no  windows,  but  set  upright  in  one 
wall  was  what  looked  like  the  back  of  a  clock,  as  tall 
as  a  man.  Opposite  the  door  by  which  they  had 
entered  was  another  door.  Around  the  walls  were 
shelves,  from  floor  to  ceiling,  crowded  with  hour- 
glasses  of  all   sizes. 

The  old  gentleman  observed  the  look  which  Toby 
cast  at  the  shelves. 

''One  of  my  store-rooms,"  said  he.  "I've  got  a 
good  many  of  'em,  all  told,  and  in  fact  you'll  find  a 
store-room  of  mine  in  the  top  of  nearly  every  clock- 
tower  in  the  world.  It  takes  a  deal  of  space  to  keep 
all  the  hour-glasses  in,  I  can  tell  you.  If  you'll  give 
me  yours,  I'll  put  'em  away  for  you.  Shiraz  got  'em 
away  from  me  once,  but  he  won't  do  it  again.  He 
manages  to  steal  one  now  and  then,  when  I'm  away, 
but  I  usually  get  'em  back,  sooner  or  later." 

He  collected  the  hour-glasses  from  his  visitors,  and 
put  them   away  on   a   shelf. 

"Look  'ere,  parent,"  said  Mr.  Punch,  "hif  I  didn't 
know  better,  I'd  s'y  as  I'd  seen  this  room  before. 
There's  the  back  of  the  clock,  and  the  door  over  there 
looks  like — " 

"You've  a  sharp  eye,  Punch,  my  boy,"  said  the  old 
gentleman.  "Quite  a  detective  you  are,  my  son.  Now, 
then,  we'd  better  get  busy.  Aunt  Amanda,  do  you 
want  me  to  cast  off  your  enchantment?" 

"Why  do  you  call  me  that?"  asked  Queen  Miranda. 


224  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"Because  that's  your  name.  Don't  you  know  who 
you  are?" 

"I  know  I  was  enchanted  once,  under  the  name  of 
Aunt  Amanda." 

"No,  no.  You're  enchanted  now,  under  the  name 
of  Queen  Miranda." 

"But  Shiraz  the  Persian  told  us  he  would  disenchant 
us,  and  he  did." 

"No,  no.  You  were  yourselves  before,  and  now  you 
are    enchanted." 

"My  brain  is  in  a  whirl,"  said  Queen  Miranda.  "Are 
we  ourselves  now,  or  were  we  ourselves  before?" 

"By  crackey,"  said  Toby,  "it's  too  much  for  me,  and 
I  give  it  up.  Anyway,  what  we  want  to  know  is,  can 
you  cure  the  Chevalier?" 

"I  can,  and  I  will,"  said  the  old  man.  "There's 
nothing  the  matter  with  him,  except  that  he  isn't  him- 
self. As  soon  as  he's  himself  again,  he'll  be  well. 
He  was  given  the  chance  once  before,  but  he  didn't 
know  how  to  use  it;  he  made  a  great  mistake." 

"What  mistake?"  said  Toby. 

"He  made  the  mistake  of  carrying  the  Old  Man 
of  the  Mountain  on  his  back.  If  he  had  only  lifted 
him  up  in  his  arms  before  him,  the  Old  Man  would 
have  been  as  light  as  a  feather,  and  Freddie  would 
have  been  himself  again  in  a  flash.  But  of  course  he 
didn't  know.     We've  got  to  correct  his  mistake." 

"Well,  by  crickets,"  said  Toby,  "this  is  Correction 
Island,  right  enough.  Blamed  if  I  know  which  is  the 
mistake  and  which  is  the  correction.  It  looks  to  me 
as  if  it  was  a  mistake  to  be  corrected,  and  we've  got 
to  correct  the  correction  back  again." 

"Something  like  that,"  said  the  old  man,  smiling. 
"I'm  going  to  undo  the  correction  of  each  one  of  you, 
and  then  you'll  all  be  yourselves  once  more,  instead 
of  these  false  things  you  now  are." 


THE  SORCERER'S  DEN  225 

Queen  Miranda  looked  at  the  ruby  ring  on  her 
finger,  and  wept  quietly  to  herself.  As  for  Freddie, 
his  eyes  never  left  the  face  of  the  old  man. 

The  old  man  stooped  over  Freddie,  and  laid  his 
cheek  against  the  young  Chevalier's  pale  forehead,  and 
then  against  the  young  man's  cheeks;  he  then  threw 
aside  the  blankets  and  sat  himself  down  on  Freddie's 
knees.  His  body  pressed  the  young  man's  breast,  and 
his  cheek  touched  the  young  man's  cheeks  one  after  the 
other.  It  was  some  moments  before  there  was  any 
change.  The  others  watched  anxiously.  A  red  glow 
began  to  appear  in  Freddie's  cheeks,  and  his  eyes  be- 
came brighter.  He  raised  his  hands;  he  moved  his 
head;  he  looked  about  him;  he  smiled  into  the  face  of 
the  old  man. 

"You  are  better?"  said  the  old  man. 

"I'm  very  well,"  said  Freddie,  in  a  clear  voice. 
"But  I  think  I  must  have  been  sick.  Have  I  been 
sick?" 

"Rather,"  said  the  old  man.  "But  you  are  going  to 
be  yourself  again  in  another  minute.  Now,  then;  put 
your  arms  around  me  and  lift  me  off.  Can  you  do 
that?"  .... 

"Easily,"  said  Freddie,  and  he  lifted  the  old  man  in 
his  arms,  and  rising  to  his  feet  at  the  same  time,  tossed 
the  old  man  off  with  an  easy  gesture. 

As  the  old  man  touched  the  floor,  there  was  no 
longer  any  Chevalier.  Freddie  was  standing  before 
the  chair  in  his  own  person;  the  Little  Boy  once  more, 
with  sparkling  eyes  and  rosy  cheeks.  He  looked 
around  in  surprise. 

"Where  are  Aunt  Amanda  and  the  others?"  said 
the  Little  Boy. 

"Wait  just  a  minute,  Freddie,"  said  the  old  man. 
"Now,  madam,"  he  said  to  Queen  Miranda,  "if  you 
will  be  kind  enough  to  lift  me  up  and  toss  me  away — " 

Queen  Miranda  looked  at  him  doubtfully.     He  was 


226  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

a  solid-looking  person,  and  it  seemed  absurd  to  think 
of  lifting  him.  But  she  did  as  he  directed,  and  placing 
her  hands  under  his  arms  she  found  that  he  weighed 
no  more  than  a  baby.     She  held  him  up  off  the  floor. 

"Now  cast  me  off,"  said  he. 

She  tossed  him  away  with  an  easy  gesture,  and  he 
alighted  on  his  feet  with  a  bound. 

*'Aunt  Amanda  !"  cried  Freddie,  and  rushed  Into  her 
arms. 

"Land  sakes  !"  said  she.  "I  thought  you  were  never 
coming.  Where  are  all  the  others?  I'm  glad  there's 
nobody  but  this  old  man  to  see  me  in  this  bedraggled 
bonnet.  Why  don't  that  Toby  Littleback  come?  Now 
ain't  it  like  him  to  keep  me  waiting  here  all  night?  I 
never   see    such    an   exasperatin' — " 

"Wait  just  one  moment.  Aunt  Amanda,"  said  the 
old  man.     "I'll  have  him  here  immediately." 

He  stood  before  Toby,  and  directed  him  what  to 
do.  Toby  seized  him  in  his  strong  hands  and  lifted 
him  up  over  his  head  like  a  feather  pillow;  and  such 
a  toss  did  Toby  give  him  as  sent  him  flying  across 
the  room  alm.ost  to  the  wall.  The  old  man  came  down 
on  his  feet  with  a  bound. 

"You  Toby  Littleback !"  said  Aunt  Amanda.  "Ain't 
it  just  like  you  to  keep  me  and  Freddie  waiting  here 
all  night,  while — And  where's  Mr.  Punch  and  all  the 
rest  of  'em?" 

Toby  stood  before  her,  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets. 
His  hump  was  on  his  back  In  its  rightful  place,  and 
he  looked  exactly  as  he  had  looked  the  first  time  Freddie 
had  seen  him,  standing  In  the  doorway  of  the  Old 
Tobacco  Shop. 

"I  ain't  been  nowhere.  Aunt  Amanda,"  said  Toby. 
"And  I  don't  know  where  Mr.  Punch  Is,  neither.  I 
ain't  his  guardian,  anyway.  The  last  I  seen  of  him, 
as  far  as  I  remember,  was  In  Shiraz's  garden,  lookin' 
round  at  the  flowers.     By  crackey,  If  he  can't  take  care 


THE  SORCERER'S  DEN  227 

of  himself,  I  ain't  a-going  to  do  it  for  him.  Maybe 
the  old  gentleman  here  can  tell  you,  if  you  want  to 
know." 

"Wait  just  a  moment,"  said  the  old  man.  "I'll 
have  him  here  immediately." 

Mr.  Punch  laughed  immoderately  as  he  picked  up 
his  own  father  and  tossed  him  in  the  air  and  hurled 
him  across  the  room.  The  old  man  did  not  seem  to 
mind  it  a  bit,  but  joined  in  the  laugh  as  he  came  down 
on  his  feet  with  a  bounce.  Mr.  Punch  was  immedi- 
ately himself  again;  his  hump  was  on  his  back,  his 
breast  stuck  out,  his  long-tailed  coat  and  knee  breeches 
were  as  before,  and  he  looked  as  if  he  might  just  have 
stepped  down  from  his  wooden  box  beside  the  Tobacco 
Shop's  door. 

"Wery  glad,"  said  he,  "to  myke  you  acquainted 
with  me  old  parent;  and  a  wery  good  parent  too, 
hif " 

"That's  enough.  Punch,"  said  his  father.  "Now 
we'll  bring  on  the  Churchwarden." 

In  another  moment  the  thin  and  saintly-looking 
Thomas  the  Inferior  was  gone,  and  in  his  place  was 
the  fat  and  comfortable  Churchwarden,  blinking  at  his 
friends  through  his  round  spectacles. 

"I  have  been  considering,"  said  he,  "that  it  would 
be  highly  desirable,  after  all  I  have  passed  through 
lately,  to  sit  in  my  chair  on  the  pavement  against  the 
wall  of  my  church  with  a  pipe  and  a  newspaper;  and 
I  have  concluded  that " 

"We  will  now  call  Mr.  Hanlon,"  said  the  old  man. 

From  the  time  Mr.  Hanlon  placed  his  hands  under 
the  old  man's  arms  his  tongue  was  rattling  on  at  a 
prodigious  speed;  and  as  he  tossed  the  old  man  lightly 
away  like  a  doll  he  was  saying,  "And  niver  once  did 
the  spacheless  man  and  the  deaf  wife  have  anny  worrds 

except  once;  and  'twas  then  that ,"     But  he  spoke 

no  more.     He  was  himself  again.     He  was  dumb. 


228  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Toby  greeted  him  warmly,  but  he  only  nodded  his  head 
vigorously,  and  smiled  his  old-time  cheerful  smile. 

"That's  all,"  said  the  old  man. 

"But  the  two  Old  Codgers "  began  Toby. 

"They  will  not  be  here,"  said  the  old  man.  "No  use 
waiting.  They  made  their  choice  some  time  ago.  They 
are  as  much  themselves  now  as  they  ever  were,  and  they 
Avill  remain  where  they  are  in  perfect  contentment.  No 
need  to  bother  about  them.  AH  that  rem»ains  now  is  to 
bid  you  farewell,  and  wish  you  a  pleasant  journey." 

"Have  we  far  to  go?"  said  Toby. 

"You'll  see,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  going  to  the 
door,  that  was  opposite  the  one  by  which  they  had 
entered,  and  throwing  it  open. 

He  stood  aside  as  they  passed,  and  smiled  upon  each 
with  a  kind  and  fatherly  smile.  He  placed  his  hand 
on  Freddie's  head,  and  turned  the  Little  Boy's  face 
up  so  that  he  could  look  down  into  his  eyes. 

"Remember!"  he  said.  "Never  carry  the  Old  Man 
of  the  Mountain  on  your  back.  Carry  him  before  you 
in  your  hands,  and  he  will  be  as  light  as  a  feather. 
Now  farewell." 

He  gently  pushed  them  out  and  closed  the  door  be- 
hind them,  and  they  went  slowly  down  a  dark  stair. 
Toby  held  Freddie's  hand,  and  Mr.  Punch  helped  Aunt 
Amanda.  They  could  see  very  little,  and  they  knew 
very  little  where  they  were,  until  they  found  themselves 
after  a  time  on  a  level  floor,  and  feeling  the  wall  with 
their  hands  came  to  a  pair  of  swinging  doors.  Through  I 
these  doors  they  passed,  and  Toby  knocked  his  knee 
against  something  in  the  dark. 

"It's  a  long  bench !"  said  Toby.  "And  here's  a  sight 
of  other  long  benches !  Blamed  if  they  don't  seem  like 
pews  in  a  church!" 

A  dim  light  as  of  tall  windows  was  visible  at  some 
distance  on  their  left. 

The    Churchwarden   pushed    forward   and   walked 


THE  SORCERER'S  DEN  229 

swiftly  here  and  there  with  the  step  of  one  who  knows 
the  way.     In  a  moment  he  returned. 

"It's  a  church,"  he  said,  calmly.  "It's  my  church. 
This  way,  madam  and  gentlemen." 

He  led  the  way  to  the  left.  Under  a  great  round 
window  which  could  be  dimly  seen  in  the  wall  was  a 
wide  door,  before  which  they  all  paused. 

"As  captain  of  this  party,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "my 
orders  is  that  we  open  the  door  and  see  what  will 
happen  next." 

"Ay,  ay,  ma'am,"  said  the  Churchwarden,  and 
opened  the  door. 

In  a  moment  they  were  standing  under  the  stars  on 
a  brick  pavement  before  a  church,  and  on  the  pave- 
ment against  the  church  wall  was  an  empty  chair. 

"Ah!"  said  the  Churchwarden,  and  sat  down  in  the 
chair. 

"Mercy  on  us!"  cried  Aunt  Amanda.  "We're 
home!" 

"Blamed  if  we  ain't!"  said  Toby.  "It's  our  own 
street,  and  I  can  almost  see  the  Tobacco  Shop  from 
here!" 

"Harfter  a  life  of  adventure,"  said  Mr.  Punch,  "one 
will  find  it  wery  pleasant  to  stand  quietly  on  one's  little 
perch  and  rest  one's  legs  and  see  one's  old  friends  go 
In  and  hout  at  the  Old  Tobacco  Shop  once  more,  watch- 
ing for  the  'ands  of  the  clock  to  come  together  for  a 

bit  of  relaxation  with  one's " 

"All  right,  young  feller!"  cried  Toby  to  Freddie. 
"Come  with  me.  Mr.  Punch,  take  Aunt  Amanda 
home.  I'll  be  with  you  as  soon  as  I've  got  Freddie 
safe." 

Aunt  Amanda  and  Mr.  Punch  went  off  together 
towards  the  Old  Tobacco  Shop.  Mr.  Hanlon,  after 
shaking  hands  all  round,  departed  for  the  Gaunt  Street 
Theatre,  where  he  would  be  no  longer  troubled  by  the 
imps,  who  had  long  since  been  destroyed  by  the  Odour 


230  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

of  Sanctity.  The  Churchwarden  preferred  to  enjoy  for 
awhile  the  comfort  of  his  old  chair  by  the  Church  wall, 
and  Toby  and  Freddie  left  him  there,  his  hands  folded 
placidly  across  his  stomach. 

Freddie  and  Toby  crossed  the  street-car  track,  hand 
in  hand  together.  The  horse  had  gone  to  bed  for  the 
night,  and  there  was  no  danger.  All  the  houses  were 
dark.  It  was  very  late.  No  light  was  to  be  seen  any- 
where, except  a  gas-lamp  at  the  next  corner.  The 
streets  were  silent  and  deserted.     Freddie  yawned. 

Freddie's  house  was  dark,  like  all  the  rest.  A  nar- 
row brick  passage-way  followed  a  fence  to  the  rear, 
between  this  house  and  the  next,  and  a  gate  opened 
from  the  sidewalk  into  this  passage.  Freddie  and  Toby 
went  through  this  gate  and  crept  quietly  to  the  back- 
yard of  Freddie's  house.  The  kitchen-door  was  locked, 
but  T  oby  found  a  window  which  was  unfastened.  He 
raised  it  noiselessly,  and  helped  Freddie  to  climb  in. 
With  a  whispered  good-night  the  Little  Boy  left  his 
friend  and  tiptoed  into  the  house  and  up  the  back 
stairs  in  the  dark  to  his  own  room. 

His  bed  was  there  in  its  old  place,  and  the  covers 
were  turned  down.  He  did  not  stop  to  say  his  prayers. 
He  yawned  and  stretched  his  arms.  He  wanted  nothing 
now  but  to  lie  snug  and  safe  under  the  cool  sheets.  He 
threw  off  his  clothes  and  left  them  on  the  floor.  He 
knew  where  his  night-gown  was.  He  crept  into  bed; 
he  pulled  the  covers  up  to  his  ears;  he  nestled  his  head 
into  the  pillow,  and  breathed  a  deep  sigh. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

THE   next   morning,   when   Freddie   awoke,   his 
mother  and  father  were  standing  over  his  bed. 
"I    think  he  had  better  not  go  there   any- 
more," his  father  was  saying. 

"Oh,  I  don't  think  it  will  do  him  any  harm  now," 
said  his  mother. 

"It  all  comes  of  his  staying  away  so  long,"  said  his 
father.  "I  always  told  him  to  hurry  back,  and  just 
see  how  long  he  stayed  this  time.  If  he  can't  come  back 
in  less  than  six  months  or  six  years  or  heaven  knows 
how  long,  he'd  better  not  go  at  all." 

"Oh,"  said  his  mother,  "I'm  sure  he'll  come  back 
promptly  after  this." 

"I  couldn't,"  said  Freddie.  "It  took  such  a  long 
time  to  get  to  the  Island,  and  there  was  all  the  trouble 
with  the  pirates,  and  it  was  a  terrible  long  journey 
before  we  got  to  the  palace,  and  of  course  we  couldn't 
run  away  from  the  queen  after  we'd  gone  all  that  long 
way  with  her,  and  the  queen's  children  didn't  want  me 
to  go  anyway,  and  there  wasn't  any  way  to  get  back, 
except  for  finding  out  how  to  get  to  the  top  of  the 
tower,  and  maybe  I  wouldn't  have  got  back  at  all  if  I 
hadn't  met  the  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain,  and  got 
sick  and  cured  again  by  Mr.  Punch's  father,  and  I 
might  have  got  drowned  when  the  ship  disappeared,  or 
I  might  have  had  my  head  cut  off  by  the  pirates,  and 
then  you  wouldn't  have  seen  me  any  more,  and  you'd 
have  been  sorry." 

231 


232  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

His  father  looked  at  his  mother,  and  nodded  his 
head. 

"He'd  better  stay  in  bed  today,"  said  he.  "We  won't 
talk  to  him  about  it  until  tomorrow." 

"Yes,"  said  his  mother,  "that  will  be  much  better. 
Poor  little  Freddie!" 

Freddie  did  not  know  why  he  should  be  called  poor, 
but  he  was  still  tired  from  the  adventurous  life  he  had 
recently  lived,  and  he  was  very  glad  to  remain  in  bed 
all  day. 

The  next  morning,  after  his  father  had  said  good- 
bye for  the  day,  his  mother  allowed  him  to  get  up, 
and  a  little  later  to  go  out  into  the  sunshine.  He 
strolled  down  the  street,  enjoying  the  familiar  sights 
after  his  long  absence.  He  found  his  legs  a  little  weak; 
he  must  have  been  very  ill  indeed  at  the  King's  palace, 
and  he  could  not  expect  to  get  over  it  in  one  day.  He 
crossed  the  street-car  track,  and  on  the  pavement 
before  the  church  he  saw  a  well-known  figure. 

The  Churchwarden  was  sitting  in  his  chair  tilted 
back  against  the  wall,  smoking  a  long  pipe  and  reading 
a  newspaper.  As  Freddie  approached  he  put  down 
his  paper  and  looked  at  him  over  his  spectacles. 

"Good  morning,"  said  he.  "I'm  glad  to  see  you 
back  again.  I  hear  you've  been  away."  And  he 
winked  his  eye  at  Freddie  in  a  very  knowing  manner. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie.  "I  guess  I  must  have 
been  pretty  sick." 

"No  doubt  about  it,  my  son.  But  of  course  I  knew 
all  the  time  you'd  pull  through." 

Freddie  did  not  believe  it  for  a  moment;  obviously 
the  Churchwarden  was  bragging. 

"The  street  looks  pretty  good,"  said  Freddie,  "after 
being  away  so  long.  Would  you  rather  sit  here  on  the 
pavement  than  do  anything  else?" 

"I  believe  you,  son.     I'd  rather  sit  here  on  a  sunny 


THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP  233 

day  with  a  pipe  and  a  newspaper  than  have  all  the 
treasure  of  the  Incas." 

Freddie  was  glad  to  hear  that  the  Churchwarden 
did  not  regret  the  loss  of  his  share  of  the  treasure, 
though  whether  Captain  Lingo  belonged  to  the  Incas 
he  did  not  know. 

"I  don't  care  anything  about  the  treasure  myself," 
said  he.  "I'm  too  glad  to  be  well  again  and  back  In 
our  own  street." 

"I'm  glad  I'm  here  myself,  son.  And  If  you  happen 
to  see  Toby  Littleback  this  morning,  tell  him  I'm  alive 
and  resting  well,  considering." 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  and  continued  his  stroll. 

The  Old  Tobacco  Shop,  when  he  arrived,  looked  as 
it  had  looked  on  the  fateful  day  when  he  had  last  seen 
it.  He  paused  before  the  door,  and  gazed  at  Mr. 
Punch.  He  half  expected  the  little  man  to  step  down 
and  shake  hands  with  him;  but  Mr.  Punch  did  not 
move  a  muscle;  he  did  not  even  look  at  Freddie;  he 
held  out  in  one  hand  a  packet  of  black  cigars,  and  his 
wooden  face,  if  it  expressed  anything  at  all,  showed 
the  great  calm  which  he  must  have  felt  when  he  got 
back  to  his  little  perch.  Freddie  looked  up  at  the 
clock  in  the  tower,  with  some  thought  that  the  hands 
might  be  together;  but  It  was  a  quarter  past  ten,  and 
anyway  Mr.  Punch's  father  was  probably  by  this  time 
far  away  in  some  other  of  his  store-rooms  about  the 
world. 

Freddie  entered  the  shop.  Mr.  Toby  was  behind 
the  counter,  opening  a  package  of  tobacco. 

"Aha!  young  feller!"  he  cried.  "Back  again,  sure 
enough !  Blamed  If  It  don't  seem  as  If  you'd  been  away 
from  here  for  a  year.  And  a  mighty  sick  chap  you 
were,  that's  a  fact.  I  reckon  we  all  thought  you  were 
going  to  die,  maybe;  by  crackey,  I  never  seen  anyone 
so  pale  in  my  life.     Are  you  all  right  now?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie.     "And  I'm  glad  to  be  back. 


234  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

Are  you  glad  to  be  here  in  the  shop,  the  same  as  ever?" 

"Me?  You  bet  I  am.  You  couldn't  buy  me  to 
leave  this  shop,  not  if  you  offered  me  all  the  money 
that  Captain  Kidd  ever  buried.  No,  sir.  And  look 
here,  young  man;  I  reckon  you  ain't  surprised  to  see 
that  the  Chinaman's  head  is  gone;  eh?" 

Freddie  looked  at  the  shelf  behind  Toby,  and  sure 
enough,  the  Chinaman's  head  was  gone.  He  knew,  of 
course,  that  It  was  lying  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean. 

"I  kind  of  lost  it  one  day,"  said  Toby,  winking  his 
eye.  "Mislaid  it,  you  know,  or  lost  it,  one  or  the 
other,  I  don't  know  which, — ^but,  anyway,  I  reckon  it 
won't  never  be  found.  It's  gone.  I  hope  you  don't 
mind  it  now,  do  you?" 

"No,  sir,"  said  Freddie.  He  was  glad  to  know  that 
Mr.  Toby  was  not  still  feeling  disturbed  because  he 
had  left  it  on  board  The  Sieve. 

"All  right,  then,"  said  Toby.  "You'd  better  go  in 
and  see  Aunt  Amanda." 

Freddie  opened  the  door  at  the  rear  of  the  shop  and 
went  into  the  back  room.  Aunt  Amanda  was  sitting 
by  the  table,  sewing. 

On  the  table  were  the  wax  flowers  and  the  album 
and  the  double  glasses  through  which  you  looked  at  the 
twin  pictures.  The  room  was  just  as  if  they  had  never 
left  it. 

"Eshyereerilart,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  taking  a  hand- 
ful of  pins  from  her  mouth.  "Bless  your  dear  little 
heart,  Fm  glad  you're  back  again.  Are  you  well?  Sit 
down  on  the  hassock." 

Freddie  took  his  customary  place  on  the  hassock  at 
her  feet.  He  looked  up  at  her  and  wondered  If  she 
were  sorry  she  had  been  a  queen  once  and  was  a  queen 
no  more. 

"Yes'm,"  said  he.     "Fm  all  well  now." 

"And  glad  to  be  back  here  In  the  shop  again?" 

"Yes'm;  I  cert'n'y  am." 


THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP  235 


'Ah,  yes,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "there's  no^ place  like  the 
Old  Tobacco  Shop,  after  all." 


--G  THE  OLD  TOBACCO  SHOP 

"Ah,  yes,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "there's  no  place  like 
the  Old  Tobacco  Shop,  after  all.  I  wouldn't  exchange 
it  for  a  palace  if  you'd  give  it  to  me." 

"Wouldn't  you?"  said  Freddie,  a  little  surprised  at 
this. 

"I  should  say  not.  I  wouldn't  be  myself  in  a  palace. 
I'm  pretty  well  satisfied  here." 

"But  what  about  the  children?"  said  Freddie. 

"The  children?"  asked  Aunt  Amanda. 

"Yes.     Robert  and  Jenny  and  James.     You  know." 

Aunt  Amanda  looked  at  him  for  a  moment,  and  then 
nodded  her  head  and  sighed. 

"Yes,"  she  said.  "You  know  about  them,  don't  you? 
I  forgot  that  you  knew.  Yes,  I  miss  them  a  good  deal, 
and  I  suppose  I  even  cry  sometimes  because  I  haven't 
got  them.  But  I  love  to  think  about  them.  I'm  happy 
thinking  about  them,  even  if  I  can't  have  them." 

"James  was  the  littlest,"  said  Freddie. 

"Yes,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  nodding  her  head  to  her- 
self as  If  at  a  gentle  memory. 

"He  was  too  little  to  go  out  much  with  the  others," 
said  Freddie. 

"Yes,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "he  was  too  little." 

"And  Jenny,"  said  Freddie,  "she  wouldn't  go  with 
Robert  the  day  he  ran  away.  He  wanted  her  to,  but 
she  wouldn't." 

"No,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "she  wouldn't." 

"He  was  gone  all  day,"  said  Freddie. 

"Yes,"  said  Aunt  Amanda,  "he  was  gone  all  day, 
and  he  didn't  get  back  until  after  dark.  I  didn't  know 
where  he  was.  When  he  got  back  It  was  dark,  and 
he  was  muddy  all  over.     I  was  terribly  worried." 

THE  END. 


I 


C.OVFR  BOOK  SYSTEN^ 


